Civil War Hulk
by Michael Weyer
Summary: What if the Hulk's forces had arrived at the climactic battle of CW? All reviews welcomed. Creator Commentary added.
1. Chapter 1

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

Marvel Comics owns everyone, I don't. I don't know why this hit me, it just did and thought I'd jot it down fast. I'm pretty much putting this on as a one chapter so far to see if anyone likes it enough to continue. So let me know if that's a yes.

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_ I am Uatau. Like the others of my race, I am pledged to Watch but not interfere in the affairs of other planets. It is a pledge I have tested several times over the years I have watched over the planet Earth. Despite all their flaws, this species of humanity still has a special place in my heart and I feel the need to aid them if I can._

_But I do not simply watch over this one Earth. I can peer into various other realities, worlds where events took different turns. One such Earth follows much the same timeline as the world you know although some of the details differ._

_The most glaring is that in this world, the Sentry exists only as a comic book character. Bob Reynolds is a happy family man living a normal life, not a powerful hero. Still, most other events remain the same, including the banishing of the Hulk from Earth by a coalition of Earth's heroes. As on your world, the Hulk landed on a battle torn world, became its king only to lose the woman he loved. A loss that drives him to go back to Earth for revenge._

_But here is where another detail is changed. That the Hulk's forces arrive much sooner than they did on your world. That they arrived at the climactic battle of the forces waging war in Manhattan over the Registration Act. A war that in this reality does not include a time-lost Captain Marvel. Also, in this world, the forces of Namor do not arrive on the battle scene. Thus, Earth is left without two beings who could defeat the Hulk. How will this change events? Watch…and see._

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Tony Stark bit back a glob of blood as the shield smashed into his face again. His armor, comprised of the finest materials available was still not enough to stand up to the world-famous shield of Captain America. It left enough of a crack for a red-gloved fist to smash into his jaw and knock him back.

Steve Rogers' costume was ragged and torn but still as proud as the look in his eyes as he marched on his long-time friend. The sound of battle erupted about them, clashes of power and might, fists and energy beams ripping about with gunfire breaking out here and there. Tony had no idea who was winning or losing and was frankly too busy to care. All he could do was try to hold back Steve's assault.

He threw out a punch but the armor was a weakness for once, slowing down the drive and Steve dodged it to smash the shield once more into his face. The impact made Tony's head ring and he could feel his control of the Extremis fade a bit. That was what Steve needed as he smashed Tony again and again and again and then one final two-fisted shot to knock him on his back.

Tony gasped, peering up through his now shattered faceplate. "Go on, Steve," he croaked out. "Do it."

Captain America stood over him, frozen as if not believing he'd just beaten Iron Man. His shield was held up high and Tony could see the fight in his eyes, the desire for victory against caring for a friend. That distraction might be just enough time for him to reboot his systems and…

Without warning, a loud booming sound echoed through the entire city. It was felt as much as heard, causing every combatant to stop what they were doing. Fists were in mid-air, guns aimed at targets as everyone automatically looked up. High above, a shape appeared over the city. It was a massive craft the size of three skyscrapers hanging hundreds of feet in the air. Its design easily dwarfed the SHIELD Heli-Carrier and even those who had never been off-planet could tell it was too advanced for Earth.

"Oh, great," a voice went up and Tony knew it had to be Spider-Man. "An alien invasion! Because of course, we didn't have enough on our plate so naturally we had to get an alien invasion! Honestly, God, isn't this piling it up little too much?"

There was a pause as the various civilians who had fled the area stared upward, all curious as to this new threat. There was a flickering and then an image appeared below the craft. It was a massive hologram, nearly a hundred feet tall, grey but clear. It showed a massive figure in what looked like a loincloth with a silver headband and its left arm covered in a massive metal cast with a spiked shoulder. While the color of the hologram was grey, everyone could tell by the shape alone who this was.

"Oh, Lord, it's the Hulk!" someone from the villain side yelled out unnecessarily.

The massive hologram looked about, seeming to soak in the cries of terror and panic from the people before it spoke, its voice booming through the city. **"Puny Humans. I've come to smash. And you should know why."**

"Aw, crap," the Thing muttered from a side street. "I thought old Green Jeans finally decided to take a vacation. So much for his not being a problem, huh, Reed?" He paused and turned his head to the side. "Reed?"

Reed Richards was lying on the ground tended by the Invisible Woman. The look on his oldest friend's face was nothing Ben Grimm had ever seen before: Absolute horror with a huge amount of guilt. "Oh, no…"

An image appeared on the massive billboard over Times Square. The same image that was being broadcast to ever television outlet, billboard, computer and even radio in the world, all translated into the host nation's languages. It showed what appeared to be a recording of Reed, Tony, Dr Stephen Strange and Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans, standing together. **"You call them heroes," **the Hulk bellowed. "**I call them killers. Watch."**

The recording flared to life as Reed spoke. _"I've always considered us friends, Bruce so this truly hurts. But you are simply too much of a danger to this planet and to yourself. So this was the only way. We've programmed the rocket to send you to an inhabited planet where you can be alone as you always wanted. I hope…you can find some peace."_

The Thing and Susan Richards stared at Reed in absolute shock. "Stretcho?" the Thing whispered. "You…ya took me…I was joking for cripe's sake!"

"Reed?" Sue whispered. "You…you banished him? After all he's done…"

**"They sent me to die," **the Hulk continued. **"I crashed on the world of Skarrar. I survived, with my Warbound." **The hologram widened to show a collection of alien beings standing behind him, each looking as fierce and strong as the Hulk.

As the Hulk introduced the aliens, Cap looked down at Tony as if he'd never seen him before. "Tony, what in God's name have you done?" he whispered.

Tony Stark didn't answer but simply kept watching the hologram. It now showed an image of a beautiful alien woman standing with the Hulk before a cheering crowd. **"I was their king. And Ceira the Oldstrong was my Queen." **The monster's voice had softened, showing some true longing and pain. **"But it didn't last."**

"Oh, I do not like where this is going," Spider-Man summed up the feelings of everyone watching.

The image showed a gigantic explosion coming from some sort of craft, like a nuclear bomb taken to the tenth power. **"Your 'heroes' sent a bomb. Killed a million people. Including my wife…and our unborn child." **All the feeling had left the Hulk's voice as it rose in volume and rage. **"Now this city will fall. You've got twenty-four hours to bring Strange, Richards and Stark to me. Otherwise…"**

He reached below the hologram and pulled up a figure in a navy blue and black costume. It took a moment for most to recognize Black Bolt, mainly since his face was bruised almost beyond recognition. **"I do this…**" The Hulk finished. **"To your whole stinking planet."**

The hologram flickered and died out. For a long moment, silence reigned. Then the sound of yelling and screaming kicked in as civilians immediately began to run in blind panic. Most were rushing to their homes, either to bunker in or pack and get the hell out of town. Several began advancing on the site of the battle, murder in their eyes as they moved toward Richards and Stark. Only a phalanx of army troops and several other heroes kept them from going too far.

"Oh, shit," Venom was hissing, his tongue darting all around in panic. "Oh, damn…oh, damn…the Hulk? We've gotta fight the freakin' HULK?! I can't…I can't handle…"

A stream of webbing suddenly shot over his mouth, pinning his tongue down. "Nice to see you're still the same under that suit, Gargan," Spider-Man intoned as he flipped over to where Cap was standing over the fallen Tony. "Is it true?" he asked, peering down at the man he had thought of as a mentor. "Tony…did you do it?"

Tony was slowly getting to his feet, wincing at the pain. "Peter… he was out of control…"

"Oh, you don't know what out of control is, Tony!" The three looked up to see She-Hulk charging at them, her eyes wild with hate and anger. She was almost on them when the Thing managed to tackle her to the ground and pin her arms back. She fought against him hard even as Luke Cage and Ms. Marvel raced to help the Thing out. "Let me go, Ben!" she screamed. "The son of a bitch lied to me! He sent Bruce into space and he lied to me about it!"

"Trust me, Shulkie, I know how ya feel!" the Thing said as he threw a glare toward Reed. "But killing Stark now ain't gonna help us."

"Jen," Tony began. "You have to understand…"

"Oh, I understand!" She-Hulk snarled. "After all the times he's helped us out, you believe the worst and blast him into space!"

"I was trying to make him happy!"

"And great call, boss," Spider-Man said, sarcastically clapping. "Gee, might as well go to work for FEMA with that mentality."

Tony wiped his face. "Just let me explain."

"Yeah, let him talk," Cage bit out. "Maybe then we'll all wanna take a shot at him."

"QUIET!"

The single word cut through the chaos, silencing everyone. All eyes turned to Captain America, who stood resolute on a pile of rubble. "We can argue about fault later," he said. "Right now…" He took a deep breath. "The Hulk is here. He's angry, he's intelligent and it looks like he's been learning how to fight better. And it looks like that ship is carrying an army of aliens who appear ready to follow him." He looked around. "I'm not any happier with this than any of you. But right now…the only thing that stands between this planet and chaos is us. So it's time to shelve our battle so we can fight this one."

"What?" Luke Cage snorted. "Just ask the government pretty please to not arrest us so we can save their asses?"

"You were breaking the law, Luke," Ms. Marvel said.

"Oh, yeah, the law that said we had to be stooges to do our jobs? Fine, throw me in the Negative Zone and good luck with the Hulk." 

"Luke," Cap said. "Stand down." He marched up to Tony, his eyes narrowed. "Call SHIELD, the President, whoever and tell them there's a cease-fire in effect as of now. Tell them if they want our help, they'll let that slide. And then, Tony…you and I are going to talk."

Tony Stark slowly nodded as he looked around the chaos of the street. The chaos he had made all these horrible decisions to try and stop. Then he looked up at the ship and wondered if one such decision was going to ruin all his dreams forever.

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**So….anyone want more of this? All reviews welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

Well, the feedback was pretty good and still had ideas so figured I'd toss in another chapter and see how it goes. Again, I don't own anything and all comments welcomed.

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Mara Hill's reaction at hearing that the anti-registration forces were coming to the Heli-Carrier was about as expected: Absolute anger followed by even more absolute anger at how easily she was overruled by the President.

"Sir," she bit out as she stared at the screen. "You told us that we had full leeway to do whatever it took to bring these people in. Now, you're saying that I'm supposed to just let them walk around with no restraints? That was not the agreement yesterday!"

"In case you've failed to notice, Director," the President dryly responded. "Yesterday, we didn't have the Hulk bringing an army down on us and threatening to attack. Little things like that tend to shift policy a bit."

Hill shook her head. "Sir, the Capekiller units…"

The President scoffed. "Cape-killer….honestly, did all the SHIELD PR people follow Fury out the door?"

Gritting her teeth, Hill went on. "Sir, at the least, we should have them in lockdown and under restraints. Otherwise…"

"Director," the President cut in. "I'm going to ask you a question and I'm in no mood for lackey bullshit but clear-cut answers. Can SHIELD stand up to the Hulk?"

Hill looked down before answering. "No, sir."

"Could all the pro-registration heroes stand against the Hulk?"

Hill sighed. "Actually, sir, according to our initial studies, even the combined force of both sides may not be enough."

The President nodded. "Ms. Hill, I am fully aware of the political problems and backlash of going against the SHRA. But I'm also aware that Stanford is nothing compared to the damage the Hulk can do. So as of now, you will allow Captain America and his forces to do whatever it takes to fight him and his alien cronies off." He leaned in. "Which means, Director Hill, that if Captain America orders you to do something, you can consider that an order from me too."

Hill licked her lips. "Sir, Stark's already been working on ways to…"

"Hill, right now, my opinion of Stark and Reed Richards has taken a severe nose dive," the President snapped. "So don't try using them to sway me. We've got 23 hours before all Hell breaks loose so keep your attitude in place and do your job or I find someone who can."

The communication broke off and Hill gripped a nearby chair, wishing to hell it was Stark's throat her fingers were closing around. It took a moment for her to realize that a long line was ahead of her in that regard.

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"What in the name of GOD were you thinking?!" Captain America demanded, his words echoing through the conference room.

Iron Man sighed deeply, the mask turning it to an electronic hum. He'd changed into a new suit of armor, this one closer to his original red and gold design. "I was trying to settle his problem once and for all. What did you want me to do, kill him?"

"And this was better?" Cap demanded. He shook his head as he gazed out the window. "I can't believe this…you, Reed, Namor, Strange and Xavier…how long have you been making choices for all of us?"

"It's not that simple…"

"That's always your excuse, Tony, never anything simple," Cap snapped at him. "Take the mask off, I want to say this to your face."

Iron Man paused before pulling up his faceplate to show his features. "Cap, the point of our teaming was to try and guide the superhuman community, to help us make the choices that could help the world itself."

"And exiling Banner was helping?"

"Steve, he was out of control, he was killing people…"

Cap slammed a fist on the table. "Tony…you know as well as I that if the Hulk was causing mass casualties, we'd have taken him down years ago."

"SHIELD said…"

"You told me we couldn't trust SHIELD, not since Fury left. Not that we trusted them that much when Fury was around…"

Iron Man rubbed at his face. "What is the problem, Steve? That we've been working like this or because we didn't let you in on it?"

"Yes!" Cap fired back. "That is the problem, Tony. You didn't let anyone else in on it."

Tony fixed him with a hard gaze. "Cap, with respect, you're a man of a different time. You barely manage to handle today's politics-----"

"Don't bullshit me on this, Tony," Steve snapped. "I understand that, I made peace with it years ago. My problem is you didn't tell _anyone_. You didn't tell any of us, Reed didn't tell his family, Xavier didn't tell his students. You all decided that you and only you, had the right to make choices that would define and change the entire world and the rest of us didn't count."

"T'challa does that all the time…"

"He's a king, Tony," Cap pointed out. "So is Namor. No one elected you, no one chose you, no one decided you were the one to represent us in everything. But you decided to stand there in your armor and do whatever it took to make sure you got your own way and damn anyone who got in your path." He leaned on the table to glare at his former friend. "Does that sound like someone we both know?"

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If metal could smile, Reed Richards knew, Doctor Victor Von Doom would be wearing a massive grin.

"Richards," his voice echoed through the viewscreen in the small communication room of the Heli-Carrier. "I must say I am amazed. Just when I think you have reached the zenith of how foolish you can be, you achieve another plateau."

Reed kept his anger in check as he spoke. "Victor, I didn't call you to defend my actions."

"A wise decision," Doom said as he settled onto his throne in his palace. "For this was a foolish decision to say the least. Exiling the Hulk, Richards? You had to know it would not succeed and that it would just enrage him further." He shook his head. "You and Stark, acting from on high. Leave such responsibilities to those who can shoulder them, Richards."

Reed sighed. "It wasn't an easy choice, Victor. But I believed it was best to give him something that could make him happy."

"And free Earth of any future destruction he would cause, that was the more important fact, Richards," Doom said. "So you set up a fake disaster into space, used a Life Model Decoy of Fury to lure him onto it and blasted him into deep space without consulting any of your fellow 'heroes' including his own cousin."

Reed glared. "And you disapprove."

An eyebrow raised under the mask. "Using deceit to betray and exile a formerly trusted friend? On the contrary, Richards. I do believe this is the first time I've ever truly respected you."

"Victor, if you want to throw around your superiority, fine," Reed snapped. "But this is a global crisis. The Hulk is threatening the entire Earth and that includes Latveria. So it's in your best interests to help us."

"Doom decides his best interests, Richards," the armored man fired back. "And I believe that this is a case where the American euphuism is best: Clean your own manure."

Reed wiped his face, hating the idea of asking his old enemy for help but knowing they had little choice. "Victor, we…need the help."

"I have no doubt of that," Doom dryly stated. "But I will put Latveria first. The Hulk will find a true challenge should he turn his intentions to Doom's land." He leaned forward. "For now, I will leave you to your own problems, which I'm sure are rather tense on the family front. Do not call on me again, Richards."

As the viewscreen went blank, Reed let out a tired sigh. He'd known getting Victor to help was a long shot but he had to make the effort. Which was also the reason for his next call.

"Richards, if I wasn't willing to give aid to your wife's request, why in Neptune's name would I do it for you?"

If anything, Prince Namor looked more annoyed than Doom from his throne room in Atlantis. Talking to Namor in the best of times was difficult as there was always that tension between the two men regarding Sue. Now, Reed knew he had to be careful rather than ignite Namor's infamous temper.

"Namor…I know we've had difficulties…"

"Difficulties?" Namor glared. "My cousin's remains are barely enough to fill a proper grave and the architects of her death were allowed to go free by you. Then you decide to clone Thor and create a monster who killed someone. Then Stark's manipulations lead to the death of some of my citizens. Now this…" He shook his head. "I warned you, Richards. I warned you and Stark and Strange that this would happen and now it has. And I told you then, I will not stand in his path."

"Namor…"

"Silence, Richards," Namor snapped, his regal bearing on full display. "Heed my words. As of this moment, Atlantis is cutting off all contact with the surface world. If the Hulk wishes to wipe out your land masses, so be it. Even he will have no care for what lies under the other three-fourths of the planet."

"Namor, you cannot…"

"You reap what you sow, Richards," the Sub-Mariner snapped. "And so it shall be for you. Farewell, Richards."

The screen went blank and Reed slumped back with a feeling of defeat. "Old-pointy-ears seems more steamed than usual," a gruff voice came from behind him. Reed turned his head around to see Ben Grimm standing in the doorway, a sour look on his rocky face.

"Where's Sue and Johnny?" Reed asked.

"Checking on the wounded," the Thing answered. He stared at Reed blankly before shaking his head. "Stretcho…I've known ya since college. I've trusted ya, I've been at yer side and always believed in what ya've done. But this…"

"Ben, you know how crazy he was," Reed said. "You told me the problems."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect ya to blast him into space!" the Thing yelled. "Damn, Reed, what wuz you thinking?! Ya had to know it wouldn't work! It never works!"

"We couldn't cure him, Ben," Reed said. "So this was the next best choice."

The flicker of pain and rage in his friend's blue eyes let Reed know he'd said the wrong thing. "Oh, I get it. So I should expect my own rocket trip soon, huh?"

"Oh, Ben, come on. You're my friend."

"So was Bruce," Ben glowered. "And you and Stark decided to do this on your own. We're family, Reed, we're supposed to trust each other! I mean, you and Suzie have had rough times but this…Ya tryin' to get her to leave ya!"

"Of course not!" Reed said. "But you haven't seen the math, Ben! You didn't see all the statistics for disaster if the Act wasn't passed."

"What I seen, Reed," Ben said, pointing a rocky finger at him. "Is that what I've always feared has finally happened."

"What's that?"

"You and old Doomsie finally have a lot in common." He seemed ready to say more but instead shut his mouth to leave Reed to handle those words.

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Captain America punched at the wall in frustration. "I swear, Tony, if I'd known about this…."

"What, you'd have rebelled sooner?" Iron Man said.

"I was fighting the Act, Tony, not you!"

"I was fighting…" His words were cut off as the door was kicked open and an angry Spider-Man stormed in, his mask off to show Peter Parker's enraged face. "You bastard," he hissed.

"Peter?" Tony asked in confusion.

"Osborn?" Peter snapped. "Norman Osborn, Tony? You've got the _Green Goblin_ working with you?"

"Peter…"

"You know what he is, Tony!" Peter yelled. "You know what that son of a bitch has done to my life! He's a merciless killer and you just let him walk around because, oh gee, you need him to bust guys who are trying to help people!"

Cap appeared just as shocked at this too. "Tony….I'm sorry, but this is truly pushing it, even for you."

Tony glared at him. "If memory serves, Steve, you were working with the Punisher not that long ago."

"And kicked him out when he killed two men in cold blood," Steve said. "And whatever else he may be, Castle doesn't kill innocents or children. Bullseye and Venom would do it just for kicks and Osborn too."

Tony sighed. "He's got nanotech inside to make sure he doesn't act up…"

"Oh, please, it's Norman fracking Osborn!" Peter snapped as both Tony and Cap mouthed "fracking?" to themselves. "He'll figure a way to get around it! I mean…God, Tony, are you sure you're off the sauce?"

Stark's features instantly moved to a scowl. "Don't push me on that, Peter. Never push me on that!"

"Well, something's got you addled!" Peter snapped. "You're willing to get Osborn, Deathstrike, Bullseye, Taskmaster and Venom, five people who alone have a combined body count in the triple digits and we're the bad guys?"

"I was attempting…" Once more, his words were cut off as the door burst open to reveal an agitated Ms. Marvel. "Tony," she breathed. "We just got a report. The Hulk's on the move."

The three men were instantly alert. "There's still over 22 hours until the deadline is up," Tony said.

Ms. Marvel shook her head. "No, it's just him. Scanners indicate he's headed to Westchester."

"Xavier's," Cap whispered. "He's going after Xavier!"

Iron Man shook his head. "Charles wasn't around when we made the decision. The Hulk's got no beef against him."

"Oh, yes, and we all know how well the Hulk works logical thought," Spider-Man sarcastically said.

"What about the Sentinel units?" Tony asked Carol Denvers.

Her blonde mane shook. "Some sort of freaky virus hit them. The SHIELD techs have never seen anything like it. It looks like the Hulk's got some sort of tech work on his ship."

"The Hulk waging computer warfare," Spider-Man noted. "Maybe those 'I'm a Mac, you're a PC' ads could get a new spokesman."

"How long until they're back online?" Tony asked.

Carol threw up her hands. "They don't know. At least two hours."

"There won't _be_ a Westchester in two hours!" Peter proclaimed.

Cap was already moving to the door. "Carol, get what heavy hitters are available and meet me on the flight deck. Peter, that includes you."

"Um, Cap?" Peter said. "Much as I love the idea of letting out some aggression, this is the Hulk and all…"

Cap fixed him with a gaze and Peter threw up his hands. "Okay, okay, just my rare bout of sanity kicking in."

"I'll try to get on and reboot the Sentinels from here," Tony said.

Cap nodded and Carol noted how the two men's anger had faded in lieu of this new emergency. "Right. And keep an eye on the ship just in case the Hulk's people try to help him out." They quickly raced off into other directions, grateful to have a common threat once more.

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Despite the several weeks, the Quinjet still handled as well as Cap remembered, blasting across the sky toward Westchester County. Carol was sitting next to him, still tense while the back of the craft held Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Hercules, the Thing, the Human Torch, She-Hulk, Wonder Man and the Wasp. The tension in the air was quite thick, no one wanting to say anything for fear of starting another insane argument.

Naturally, Peter Parker had to pick the exactly wrong thing to say. "So…no chance Tony's got Clor up and running again, huh?"

Hercules grunted. "Not after I dispatched that monstrosity to little more than scrap." His gaze fell upon the Wasp. "Your husband should feel shame at such sacrilege, Janet Van Dyne."

The Wasp sighed. "I didn't know anything about it until they brought him out. But they thought…"

"They thought it was okay to go ahead and clone Thor?" Spider-Man scoffed. "Jan, I know a little something about clones and I can tell you right now, they don't lead to anything good at all. Trust me on that."

Janet wiped her face. "They were trying to give us a bit more power…"

"Yeah and Bill Foster can tell you how that ended up!" Luke Cage snapped with anger. "Don't know how you feel about him, Jan, but watching this big blonde white dude blow away a black guy ain't a good sight for me!"

"Button up back there!" Cap said to forestall the coming argument. "We're almost there."

Everyone leaned forward to look out the windshield and could see the smoke coming forward. The Quinjet raced overhead to give them the sight of the Hulk battling what appeared to be every single remaining mutant at once. And he was winning given the bodies sprawled about.

"Oh, geez," Spider-Man muttered. "We gotta go into that?"

She-Hulk was already up and moving to Cap. "Cap…let me talk to him. Please, I've got to try and get through to him."

Nodding, Cap pulled the Quinjet into a turn to head over the mansion. "Carol, Luke, Ben, Hercules, Simon, She-Hulk, go now!" Without any pause, Carol rose from her seat and headed to a nearby doorway, opening it up and leaping out, the others soon following as the Quinjet piled away.

Down below, the Hulk smacked aside the Beast, the former Avenger just rolling enough with the blow to land on a pile of rubble nearby. The Hulk heard the oncoming rush of new fighters and looked up to see them flying down toward him. He backed up as She-Hulk landed first and stood up from the small crater under her feet. Behind her, the other heroes gathered around, ready to fight but willing to let her try.

"Hey, Bruce," Jennifer Walters said, trying to keep her voice good-natured. "What's up?"

The Hulk just glared at her as She-Hulk looked around. She saw Wolverine staggering and holding his head from a monstrous blow that even his healing factor had difficulty coping with. The White Queen was unconscious and several more of the X-Men were down. She saw Colossus nearby and winced at the sight of his metallic arms snapped in the opposite direction. _Always wondered what would happen if those two met up like this._

She licked her lips as she faced her cousin. "I didn't know, Bruce. I swear, I had no idea."

"I know," the Hulk grumbled. "But doesn't change what they did."

"What about what you're doing?" She-Hulk said. "Bruce…if you go through with this…you'll prove everyone right about what they've said about you for all these years. You don't want that."

"I'm tired of fighting it, Jen," the Hulk said. "I'm tired of being hunted. They won't leave me alone, fine. They want to call me a monster, fine. Might as well be what they all think I am."

She shook her head. "Bruce….stop this now."

"Out of my way, Jen."

"Come on, Bruce, we both know you aren't going to-------"

His fist rocketed forward to smash her in the chest and send her flying backward, Luke Cage barely catching her so both went down.

"All right, that's it!" the Thing said as he stormed forward. "_It's Clobbering Time!"_

The Hulk sniffed as he came up. "You and me again, Grimm? Fine." He met the charge with his metallic arm and smashed the Thing with a savage blow. Ben gasped, seeing stars as he realized too late that the Hulk wasn't holding back as he often did. That was confirmed by another fist smacking into his gut. He managed to dodge another to punch the Hulk across the jaw but it lacked the strength he intended and didn't slow the Hulk down in the least.

Ms. Marvel let out a blast of energy that struck him across the shoulders, the Hulk grunting at the blow but still not effected. He saw Wonder Man streaking down and grabbed the Thing's shoulders, spinning him around and using him like a baseball bat to smash Simon back. Luke Cage was entering the fray next and the Hulk brought his foot down hard, sending out a shockwave that tore up the ground under the former Hero for Hire. The Hulk was on him with incredible speed to smash Cage's nose in with a savage blow and then backhanded Hercules away.

A whirling sound cut through and he turned just in time to catch Captain America's shield before it could hit him. Seeing the famous figure coming forward, the Hulk sniffed. "You should be grateful, Rogers," he said as he sent the shield flying over to smack Hercules in the face. "From what I heard, you and Stark have been having some problems."

"That doesn't excuse what you're doing, Hulk," Cap said, showing no fear at the monster before him. "I'm not going to let you just rip this planet apart."

The Hulk snorted and stepped forward, seeing Spider-Man crouching by Cap. "Just you and the insect? Come on, I expected a little more of a fight here!"

"Fine by me."

At the cocky voice, the Hulk turned just in time for something long and sharp to strike him in the face. It seemed to burst into a cloud of acidic vapor that caused the Hulk to gasp out. He stumbled back, his eyes watering as he wiped at his face and looked up to see his attacker.

On top of a pile of rubble, a figure stood in a purple costume, a sharply designed mask covering his head but not the cocky grin as he looked down the long bow he carried in his hands.

"What's the matter, Jolly Green? Don't tell me you already forgot about little old Hawkeye?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Okay, some may ask why some changes from the opening of WWH but keep in mind a few things:**

**Reed and Tony don't have the early word the Hulk landed on the wrong planet so haven't had the time to prepare which is why Tony doesn't have the Hulkbuster armor.**

**Keep in mind the timeline as there's no Initiative and again, no time to assemble different forces.**

**To those who are wondering, I am NOT using the comic equivalent of a Mary Sue, aka Amadeus Cho. I mean, a teenage ultra genius who can easily manipulate SHIELD tech, buy up a whole section of Arizona with a forcefield, is loaded with millions and can outwit Tony and Reed? That character is pretty much the one major misstep of Pak's otherwise excellent Hulk run.**

**Tony hasn't had a chance to create the anti-power nanites so She-Hulk is still normally powered…if a bit angry.**

**Aunt May has not been shot as an invasion by a monster and his alien army would be a bit more of a concern to the Kingpin than settling an old grudge. **

**Thanks for all the comments, hope this gets more wishes to continue.**


	3. Chapter 3

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Clint?" Captain America gasped as he saw the figure standing there.

"Alive and well," Hawkeye said as he knocked another arrow into his bow. "Funny what a whacky trip through a magically altered reality can do for ya."

The Hulk glared at the man as he wiped his eyes. "Shoulda stayed buried, archer," he hissed as he punched the ground, sending a shockwave through the ground. Hawkeye yelped as he leapt up, managing a somersault as he fired another arrow off. He landed near Spider-Man who was staring at him in some confusion.

"You're not a clone, right?"

"Not a clone," Hawkeye smiled back.

"Oh, good," Spider-Man sighed.

"Caught you on TV screwing up your life, Pete," the archer said.

"Yeah, gonna send it to the Emmy committee," Spider-Man said as he fired a webline toward the Hulk. The webbing covered the brute's eyes as Spider-Man leapt forward to wrap both his arms around the Hulk's neck. "I got him! I got him!" He paused. "What the heck do I do now?"

The Hulk was reaching up, leaving his mid-section exposed for Cap to hurl his shield at. The blow would shatter the ribs of a normal man but the Hulk just grunted although the pain did give Spider-Man the chance to pound on his neck.

"Is the kid nuts?" Hawkeye muttered. "That's the Hulk!"

"Peter's tougher than he looks," Cap said. "He once beat Firelord."

Hawkeye was surprised. "Really? I thought that was just a story. No offense but Spidey against a Herald of Galactus…"

A familiar buzzing sound got his attention and he saw the Wasp flying before his face. "Clint, as wonderful as it is to see you back, can we get back to the fight?"

"Nice seeing you too, Jan," Hawkeye said with a wistful smile. "I know we…left a lot up in the air before I…you know."

"I know," Jan smiled at the man she'd been having an affair with just before his apparent death. "But we can talk about that later."

"Excuse me from interrupting but can I get some help here?!" Spider-Man yelled as he tried to avoid the Hulk's fists. By this point, Luke Cage was back up and moving in, cracking his knuckles. "Still playing too nice, Pete," he muttered. "You gotta learn how street can help you out."

He bent low and with all his strength, smashed his fist right up between the Hulk's legs. The behemoth let out a loud howl but still refused to go down. Ms. Marvel swept in to fire off a blast of energy at his chest that caused another howl. Hercules and Wonder Man were back on their feet and throwing out dual punches at the Hulk as Spider-Man leapt upward and back.

"Anyone know where Wolverine is?" Spider-Man called out. "Not that I miss his charming personality but seeing as he's the only one to actually stand up to the Hulk…"

"He's down," a voice called out. Cap could see Cyclops getting to his feet, gritting through his teeth as he tried to get his bearings. "Hulk smashed his head, his skeleton held up but his brain got scrambled."

"Damn," Spider-Man remarked. "If I wasn't so distracted by avoiding impending destruction, I'd come up with a few good lines on that."

The Thing moved in to punch the Hulk in the mid-section to force out his breath as Wonder Man, Hercules and Ms. Marvel all started to pile on him. Some of the X-Men had managed to recover and were moving in to help.

"Where's Xavier?" Captain America asked.

Cyclops winced. "In space on a mission. We tried to tell him that but he didn't believe us."

"I'm not surprised," Cap sighed. "After being lied to already…" He looked at the pile-on before him and saw the Hulk going to one knee. "Back up!" he called out.

"We got him down!" Simon yelled back.

"No, he's got you!" Cap's words were out of his mouth just as the Hulk threw himself up, his hands coming forward in a massive thunderclap that rocked like a miniature sonic boom. Everyone was sent flying backward as the Hulk stood there, growling in rage.

"I want Xavier!" he yelled.

"He's not here, Hulk!" Cyclops snapped as he got to his feet. "See reason already!"

"The only reason I have left is to smash, Summers," the Hulk snarled. "And I'm not letting anyone stop me from that!"

Spider-Man was about to reply when he felt his senses buzzing. He craned his head and heard a familiar sound coming toward him. "Oh, hell," he muttered. "I know those engines..."

Another sound came, a bright sizzling and whirling. "I know that one too!" Spider-Man yelped as he leapt aside just in time to dodge the pumpkin bomb that flew outward to smash into the Hulk. A blast of fire covered the brute, causing him to howl in rage. The Green Goblin flew overhead on his glider, letting out a maniacal laugh as he tossed another bomb out.

"The hell are you doing here, Norman?" Spidey demanded.

"Just proving myself to Stark," the Goblin said as he swept in. "But don't worry, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater. I'm not forgetting you either."

Spidey looked to Cap. "You think Tony rooted for the Indians in Westerns?"

Cap just pointed toward the Hulk as he called out. "Cyclops, Carol, double beams!" The two fired out with their energies to strike the Hulk dead center, causing him to shift off balance a bit. The Goblin continued to fly overhead laughing all the while as he readied another pumpkin bomb. "Stark understand what you don't, Rogers!" he called down. "Or you, Parker! To truly succeed in life, you need to be ruthless. You need a killer edge. You need…"

With a sudden burst of speed, the Hulk reached out and grabbed the glider as it swept over his head. The Goblin gasped as he was jerked forward and onto the ground. The Hulk crumbled the glider and tossed it aside, causing it to erupt in flame and metal. He caught the falling Goblin and hoisted him up.

Norman Osborn, for one of the few times in his life, felt absolute terror as he found himself face to face with the enraged Hulk, the green hair still mixed with flecks of fire from the bomb. "You know, Goblin," he hissed. "You may have the right idea."

One hand clamped onto Osborn's neck as the other grabbed at his feet. The Hulk brought him up and before anyone could stop him, stretched his hands out. There was a horrific combination of tearing and shattering and before everyone's horrified eyes, the Green Goblin was literally torn in half.

Luke Cage let out a long set of expletives as blood sprayed onto his shirt. The Hulk tossed the two halves of the body to the side, each half quivering and spasming before going still, blood pouring out of the ripped torso. The battle seemed to halt as everyone was jarred at this horrific act of violence.

"Holy shit," Spider-Man whispered, staring in shock at the body of his arch-enemy. Hawkeye managed to recover first, grabbing at an arrow as Spidey glanced to him. "What is that? Electro-arrow? Net arrow? Fire arrow?"

"Nah," Hawkeye said as he aimed it at the Hulk's face. "This is my good old-fashioned 'very sharp, if it hits you, it'll put a great big hole in you' arrow."

"Works for me," Spidey intoned as Hawkeye let it fly. The arrow sped out and plunged right at the Hulk's left eye socket. The Hulk howled out in agony as he grabbed the shaft and tried to pull it out.

"Oh, nice one," Luke sarcastically said. "You just made him madder and stronger!"

"Don't hurt him!" She-Hulk yelled.

"Hello?" Cage exclaimed. "He just ripped a guy in half, Walters! Granted, it was Osborn so no big loss but still…"

The Hulk turned around as he yanked the shaft out, blinking in pain. Despite the loss of vision, he could still see a large and hulking shape start to come out of a fireball nearby. "Ready for more, Marko?" he snarled to the man he had easily slapped aside earlier.

"Not Marko," a booming voice came out. The figure exited from the fire, the heat illuminating his brown armor and giant round helmet. "JUGGERNAUT." He charged forward, smashing into the Hulk with a powerful tackle that knocked the Green Goliath off his feet. Juggernaut came on going as he rushed the Hulk into a nearby wall.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see Jugghead again," She-Hulk muttered.

"Oh?" Cage said. "Hoping he'd give you a booty call?"

"I NEVER SLEPT WITH THE JUGGERNAUT!"

The Juggernaut was pounding away on the Hulk with powerful fists before the Hulk struck back with a hard strike from his armored arm that caught Juggernaut off balance. The Hulk struck in with another blow and another but the Juggernaut came right back at him with another smashing show from his forearm that actually bruised the Hulk's jaw.

Juggernaut backed up and started to charge in at the Hulk who dodged and smashed his face into a wall. As the Hulk staggered backward, a loud shrieking came over the landscape as Syrin flew toward him. Her voice let out a sonic cry meant to rattle the Hulk's eardrums as she already figured her usual soothing tone wouldn't work. The Hulk hissed out, his hands to his ears to try and drown it out as Syrin flew in. "Watch yourself, Theresa!" Cyclops called out.

She just nodded back and took a breath as her cry went out. In that split second, the Hulk reached upward, driven by rage and pain, closing a hand around Syrin's left leg. He pulled her in as his other fist shot outward on instinct, the knuckles smashing into her mid-section with the force of a wrecking ball dropped off the top of a skyscraper.

"THERESA!" Cyclops cried out as the sound of shattering ribs and organs echoed through the area. Syrin flopped back onto the ground, shaking, blood dripping from her lips. Jamie Madrox (the genuine article apparently as his duplicates had faded when he was knocked out earlier) was at her side. "Oh, God…Oh, God…Theresa, hang on!" He slammed a hand on the ground to call out a duplicate of himself. "Help her!"

The duplicate took one look at the body and fainted. Madrox rolled his eyes as he slammed again. "Come on, I know I sent one of these guys to med school…"

"Da?" Theresa Cassidy whispered, her eyes staring upward. "Da….that ye? But…that means…ye really are…" Her voice gave out as her eyes glazed over.

"Oh, God…" Madrox whispered as his head bowed.

The Hulk gazed at her body for a long moment as the battle paused once more. He looked to the heroes around him and saw the hate and fear and anger in their eyes. He looked to Cyclops and sniffed. "I didn't want this. I just wanted Xavier."

"Get him!" Monet St. Croix yelled as she got to her feet, her usually impassive face marked in absolute rage. Before she could move, the Hulk bent his knees and bounded upward in a massive leap that carried him a hundred yards away, jumping back toward Manhattan.

"Carol, get a medic team down here!" Captain America yelled out as he moved to the fallen Syrin.

"Too late," Madrox whispered. "Dammit, Theresa…I'm sorry."

Hawkeye rubbed at his face, shaking his head. "I can't believe…I just can't believe he did that."

She-Hulk was in shock as she stared at the body. "He…killed her. He really…killed her."

"And Osborn," Spider-Man pointed out. "Which means he's not playing by the rules anymore. He's not going to stop." He shivered. "He really is gonna smash us all."

There was really nothing that could be said to match those chilling words.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The word of the battle at Xavier's, which included the return of Hawkeye and the death of two people was enough to make Tony Stark almost search for the nearest liquor cabinet. Instead, he was willing himself to stand in the Heli-Carrier's bay waiting for the return of the Quinjet. His helmet was on to hide his haunted and guilt-ridden face but did have the effect of making him look more emotionless than he seemed.

As the ship parked, the door opened and Luke came out, holding a bag in his hands. Ms. Marvel was behind him holding another bag as Iron Man realized the two halves of Osborn's body were there. She-Hulk exited and Tony tensed, ready for a blow but she appeared too stunned to be upset and walked past him.

Spider-Man was following her and paused before Tony, staring at him. "You," he softly said. "Are damn lucky Wolverine's regrowing his brain pan or you'd be eating claws right now."

"Peter, I never…"

"Save it, Tony," Spidey said as he stalked off. Tony sighed and looked to Hawkeye and Cap coming forward. Despite the warning, he still felt jarred seeing Clint Barton alive and well. "Clint," he said. "It's…good to see you again."

"Can't say the same, Tony," Hawkeye replied, his usual flippancy gone. "I always knew you were a user but this…"

Captain America moved to his friend and glared at him. "He's a killer now, Tony," he said in a flat tone. "He was always a danger but now…now he's been pushed too far and I don't think there's any way we're getting Banner back."

Tony let out a sigh. "I've been working on ways to fight him, new armor and such. I've also been in talk with the Army."

"Good," Cap said. "Get a meeting going in half an hour. We've got less than twenty hours before he attacks, assuming he doesn't change his mind." He set his jaw carefully. "You realize that when this is over, Tony, you'll have to answer for what you've done. You, Reed and Strange."

Iron Man felt his anger rising. "And I'll defend myself because I thought it was the right thing to do. But first, let's handle what's coming." He and Cap marched off, side by side but miles apart.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The morgue was quiet as Hank Pym watched the medics undo the zipper and pull out the remains of the Green Goblin. He glanced over his shoulder to where Spider-Man stood in the observation booth. "You don't have to be here."

"Yeah, I do," Peter replied through the one-way glass' speakers. "I need to be sure." 

Hank nodded as he carefully pulled off the mask to show Osborn's face, frozen forever in a look of amazement and pain. Peter let out a long hush of breath. "Damn. He's really dead this time."

"You ok?" Hank called out.

"Yeah, just…" Peter shook his head. "I've been fighting the guy so many years and he kept coming back but now…he's really dead and gone."

"Sometimes, the dead really do stay dead," Hank said as he began to run a scanner over the body.

"Yeah, I'm sure Bill Foster would agree."

Hank closed his eyes at the cheap shot. "I'm sorry for that. He was my friend for a long time, Peter. I never wanted that to happen."

"That seems to be a common statement lately," Spider-Man noted. "Not that it's an actual excuse or anything." 

"You've lost people because of what you do, Peter," Hank said. "We're trying to prevent more of that."

"I thought that was what we were doing," Peter replied. "But locking up folks who are trying to help innocents, Hank? That's not right and you know it."

"If it stops another Stanford, it is!" Hank fired back. "What would you prefer, Peter? Going around on your own, be mistaken for a criminal by the people you're trying to help and get more girlfriends killed by a psycho?"

Spider-Man glared before turning away. "Well, we can't all be as well adjusted as you, Hank. I'm sure Jan would agree."

He walked out as Hank turned back to the corpse and tried to concentrate on it. He ran the scanner over an arm, studying the nanobites he had helped put into Osborn's skin. He frowned and ran the scan back and forth to highlight on area. "That's not right…" he muttered. He began to run another scan as his mind suddenly had a new problem to focus on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The main throne room of the Hulk's ship was as dark as his mood. He sat on the large seat at the center, brooding over what had occurred. He heard the door open and growled. "I said I wanted to be left alone."

"Forgive me, Green King," Korg said as he stepped forward. "But a human came to our station in the area of Central Park and demanded an audience with you."

"A human?" the Hulk frowned.

"He was most insistent, Green King. He said you would want to see…an old friend."

The Hulk's brow furrowed then cleared in understanding. "I should have known. Bring him in."

The rocky alien motioned and a pair of guards stepped forward. Between them was a lanky young man in red shirt and jeans with a cocky expression under his brown hair. "Hey, Bruce. Nice new arm deco."

"Rick," the Hulk said flatly. "What do you want?"

Rick Jones looked about the room. "Just to chat, I guess. Been a while, haven't touched on stuff since you ended that _way_ overlong Fugitive run."

"You know where I've been," the Hulk said with no trace of humor.

"Yeah, I do," Rick said quietly. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I really am. But…I mean…don't you think this is going just a tad overboard?"

"They brought it on themselves," the Hulk growled. "They exiled me. They bombed my world, my queen is dead, our child is dead. So now they have to pay."

"Dammit, Bruce!" Rick said. "You can't do this!"

"I can do what I want," the Hulk said as he rose up to his full height. "I killed the Goblin. I killed that Irish mutant. Why not kill more?"

Rick's face paled at that. "Oh, God," he whispered. "Bruce…you do this…you're a monster forever."

The Hulk just sneered. "I always was, Jones. You just wouldn't see it. They want me to be a monster? Fine. I'll be a monster. I'll be the monster they fear. And I'll be the monster who'll rule what's left of this world."

"Oh, like the Maestro?" Rick thought that could get through to him. He knew that Bruce had always feared that dark alternate future with his own future self a ruthless tyrant ruling what was left of the world.

"The Maestro…" The Hulk shook his head. "Was a fool. He believed in power for power's sake and wouldn't let anyone close." He waved a hand toward the aliens nearby. "I have my Warbound. They don't judge me on what I look like, Jones. They don't fear me. They respect me and believe in me."

"I believe in you, Bruce," Rick protested. "You…you can't do this! Bruce, please…"

The Hulk lashed out and grabbed him by the shirt, yanking him up. "Stop calling me that!" he bellowed. "Banner is gone, Jones. Gone and not coming back. I'm the Worldbreaker, the Green Scar, the Hulk." He threw Rick's body back to the guards. "And this world is going to know it."

He turned to face the large windows showing the city below. Behind him, Rick Jones felt a chill within him as he realized that his worst nightmare had come true. His friend was no longer in control and only the raging beast was left loose.

Korg moved forward as Jones was taken away. "What now, my King?"

The Hulk looked out before speaking. "I always knew it would come to this. I denied it for so long but I knew. They'll always think of me as a monster. They'll never leave me alone." He looked at his hands, the knuckles still carrying traces of blood. "Especially now."

Korg nodded slowly. "Then what are your commands?"

The Hulk gazed outward and a dark look of acceptance came over his face. "Cry havoc. And let slip the dogs of war."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Sorry for the delay in new chapters, tricky making this work. I do plan for a few more twists and turns as the battles begin and as you can tell, the body count threatens to be a tad higher in this universe. All comments welcomed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Civil War Hulk**

**By Michael Weyer**

**I know many are asking about the Silver Surfer and I had planned on bringing him in. But then I realized that in the timeline, the Surfer is a bit busy helping stop the Ahnilliation Wave from reaching Earth so he wouldn't be able to answer the call. Something else to keep in mind for forboding. **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Raft was quieter than usual, She-Hulk noted as she walked down its hallways. It was a bit emptier thanks to so many of its convicts brought out to aid Tony Stark, a move She-Hulk was still having problems with. As a lawyer, she knew you had to get a bit dirty and cut a deal with a criminal to help your case. But letting full-fledged psychotic murderers out on the street was something else.

She brushed those thoughts aside as she came to cell she was waiting for. Instead of bars, there was a thick sheet of Plexiglas with only a few holes for ventilation. The cell was mostly bare, just the standard toilet, a small table with various notes and the bunk upon which lay a figure, his face hidden by a newspaper. The headline showed a photo of the chaos of the X-Mansion and the headline **GOD HELP US ALL.**

She-Hulk took a deep breath as she tapped a knuckle on the window. "Look alive, Sterns. We need to talk."

There was a pause and the newspaper lowered to show a massive cranium roughly the size of a very large pumpkin. It looked like the thinnest layer of green skin was stretched over the brain. The rest of the green face was dominated by a short goatee and bushy black eyebrows over a pair of pupiless eyes. "Well, well," Samuel Sterns aka the Leader said with a smirk. "I was wondering when one of you was going to drop by." He made a show of looking at the clock in the hallway. "Damn, I owe the Thinker a twenty now."

She-Hulk glared at him. "This isn't a social call, Leader. I'm here for a reason."

The Leader sniffed as he held up the newspaper. "Yes, I can imagine. As tempting as being Lecter to your Starling may be, Walters, I really see no reason to get involved in this."

"That's why I'm here," She-Hulk said, her voice cold as she came forward. "I'm only going to ask once, Sterns and I want a clear answer. Did you have anything to do with this?"

Sterns raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

"With sending Bruce away."

The Leader frowned in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"Come on," She-Hulk said. "You can control people with a touch, you've hated Bruce for years and getting him off Earth works into any of your plans nicely."

The Leader stared at her for a few moments before breaking into a grin. Before She-Hulk knew it, the man's long head was being thrown back and he was laughing hysterically. He actually was wiping tears from her eyes as she rapped on the glass. "Hey, I'm being serious here, Sterns!"

The Leader sobered although he was still smiling. "Oh….thank you, Walters, I haven't laughed that hard in months." He wiped at his eyes. "As much as it gratifies my ego that you think so highly of my talents, I regret to say that this is one instance where I am innocent."

"You haven't been innocent in years, Sterns," She-Hulk scoffed. "Why should I believe you now?"

The eyebrow was raised once more. "So you'd rather believe I had something to do with this rather than your precious leaders made the decision themselves? I'm sure Samson would find a way to explain such rationalization." 

She-Hulk sniffed. "Yeah, I can only imagine how Len's gonna react when he finds out what they did." She looked into the cell to see the Leader grinning. "What?"

The villain chuckled. "Oh, Walters, Walters, Walters. For a lawyer, you are amazingly optimistic about people. Didn't it ever occur to you that this little gathering would need some help figuring out the right way to lure Banner up there? Who better to give that than the man who knew Banner so well?" As her face fell, the grin grew. "It would seem the Hippocratic Oath doesn't extend to the gamma powered."

As She-Hulk rubbed her head, the Leader shrugged. "I'll let you in on a secret, Walters, for old time's sake. The last few weeks, we here at the Raft have been listening to the news and laughing ourselves to sleep watching you all stumble around while we get to do what we want. Oh, not us in here but have you stopped to wonder what the likes of the Red Skull are doing while you're bashing each other to pieces?"

She-Hulk narrowed her eyes. "So who might have done this?"

The Leader shook his head. "Stark and his fine solutions are merely playing into our hands, Walters. If someone had been responsible for manipulating that group, they'd be crowing to the high heavens about it. The fact is super villains are such notorious gossips."

She-Hulk stood there taking it all in. Then she reached into her pocket and removed a small vial. She slid it into a slot at the front of the cell to push it through to the interior of the cell. "Here. Give me a cell sample."

The Leader frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"We're scraping cells from every gamma powered person we can find," She-Hulk told him. "Hopefully, we can use them to figure out a way to halt Bruce if we have to."

The Leader raised his eyebrow again. "And you expect me to comply?"

"Yes," She-Hulk said, her voice growing cold. "Because if you don't, I'll make sure to drop you in the middle of Times Square right before the deadline is up."

The Leader was startled at that. "What?" He recovered to smile. "Oh and I'm supposed to take that as a threat? Come now, Walters, Banner is…"

"He ripped the Green Goblin in half."

For once, the Leader was at a complete loss, gaping at her. "Yeah," She-Hulk confirmed. "So just imagine what he's going to do for someone he _really_ hates."

The Leader swallowed. "You…you wouldn't actually do that."

"You nuked a town, Sterns. As far as I'm concerned, you've more than earned the death penalty. You want to test me?"

The Leader gazed at her and saw the certainty in her eyes. He picked up the vial, doing his best to recover. "I'm surprised. I would have thought Stark had all the samples he needed."

"From where?"

That twisted smile returned as he gazed back to her. "Why from a certain mutual acquaintance of ours."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"The Abomination."

Captain America's words echoed through the hanger as he gazed at the huge cylinder the SHIELD technicians were wheeling in. Inside was a massive figure with scales and muscles, pointed ears and eyes that gazed out of a wrinkled and animalistic face. The lips were pulled in a twisted smile as his container was moved past Cap.

The Star-Spangled Avenger turned his head to gaze at Iron Man. "You're recruiting the Abomination," he flatly said.

Iron Man's mask was down, sparing Cap the look on his face. "There's only a handful of people we know who can go toe to toe with the Hulk, Steve. Ben's injured, the Juggernaut's fled and the Surfer won't answer Reed's hails. That leaves him."

Cap just stared at him. "Those Thunderbolts weren't enough, Tony? You have to go for pure monsters now?"

Iron Man sighed. "Steve, I'm trying to stop a disaster. I knew something like Stamford was coming and I knew if we didn't act, the government might just shut us all down."

"And so you decided, on behalf of all of us, to sell out our principles," Steve snapped. "Tony, I've been in the government and I've been a police officer. Working within the system is good but when you turn it over to someone else, it just invites trouble."

"But it's necessary, Steve," Iron Man pressed. "Especially now. This…this is exactly what I was afraid of, exactly the type of danger I wanted us prepared for."

Steve stared at him. "Tony…this whole situation is your fault! You're the one who blasted him into space and brought this down on us!" He shook his head. "I don't care what calculations Reed has made, you can't justify what you've done, no matter the reasoning."

"What's your alternative, Steve?" Iron Man fired back. "You know how close we've come to being shut down in the past. The only reason it hasn't happened is because they know we're the ones who can fight monsters and super-villains. But Stamford was different, Steve and you know it." 

"Because it happened in America?" Steve fired back. "What about when Ultron wiped out Solneria? Or when Kang blasted Washington?"

"That wasn't because of us, Steve."

"And neither was Stamford!" Cap snapped. "But this is, Tony! You sent the Hulk out there and all you did was make him madder and stronger than ever before. Whatever damage he does is going to be put on your head, Tony and that's worse than Stamford."

Iron Man looked away. "I'm doing what's needed, Steve. We can argue about it later…Assuming there is one." He marched away, once more leaving Captain America wondering once more where his friend went wrong.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As usual, Reed Richards' labatory was a mess as Susan Richards entered. Calculations were written on chalkboard and some of the walls and papers were spread about with even more scribbling in formulas the most brilliant Cambridge graduates couldn't make heads or tails out of. Reed himself was at the center, his neck stretched to check a large screen to the side while his hands scurried about typing at three different keyboards at once.

With one look, Susan knew he hadn't eaten but for once, her natural concern was not present. Instead, she stood there, arms crossed, glaring at him. "What are you working on now?" she asked.

"Hoping to figure out where exactly this Skarrar planet was," Reed informed her. "Maybe we can get clues to these species or more importantly, a way to replicate what power dampening they had to allow the Hulk to be hurt. That could be a major help to us."

Susan narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Her cold tone got through to him and he paused. His limbs and neck moved back to their normal dimensions as he looked up at her with concern. "Sue, darling…"

"Don't," she cut him off with a hand. "Just…don't." She rubbed her head. "Reed…It was one thing to arrest those who wouldn't go along with the Act and imprison them. It was another to do it in the Negative Zone. Cloning Thor.." She shook her head. "Honestly, for such a genius, you can be so damn stupid."

Reed's brow furrowed. "Sue…all of this is for Franklin and Valeria…for their generation."

"That's the world you want, Reed? A world where anyone who doesn't conform to the status quo is subject to arrest? Because that sounds a lot more like the type of world Doom would approve of."

Reed's glower grew. "Sue…"

She angrily waved a hand at the walls. "This…all this told you sending Bruce away was a good thing? That the War was a good thing? God, Reed, I know you always put so much on your science but you usually are able to balance that out by seeing the rest of the world. But this...This is too much, even for you."

"Susan," he reached to her. "I'm just doing what I've always tried to do, fix the world."

His hand was blocked by an invisible force field. "That's the problem, Reed, it always has been. For a man who can be elastic, your head is so incredibly hard that you can't get that human beings aren't mathematical pieces. You can't make them conform to your own wishes no matter how hard you try."

"I have to at least try," Reed insisted. "If we don't, the world is lost. The risks…"

"My brother was almost beaten to death, Reed," Sue snapped. "By normal people."

"Because of Stamford and the Warriors…"

"Because of that madman Nitro!" Sue broke in. "But that's not why this is happening! It's happening because you and Namor elected to make decisions behind all of us! You didn't talk to me, Reed. You never talked to me about this. You just decided to go ahead and make decisions for all of us. That's not you, Reed. Not the man I fell in love with."

Reed gazed at her soberly. "What can I do?" he whispered.

Susan sighed, wanting to hug him but knowing that wasn't what he needed. "You need to stop being a scientist for a little while, darling and start being human. Otherwise…" She shook her head. "I don't know if there's any future for us." She turned to walk away, leaving a jarred Mr. Fantastic to his thoughts.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The large cafeteria of the SHIELD Heli-Carrier was busy as various heroes mingled with agents to get some food. There was tension and it was clear that the agents were ready to go in if either of the two sides of heroes came to blows. The tension was clear with former teammates keeping their distance from each other while trying to eat. One person in particular was getting more attention than others.

"Damn, finally know how Cap felt the first few weeks after getting thawed out," Hawkeye said as he finished his hamburger. His mask was off but the uniform was more than enough to get attention. "Wonder how Drax puts up with it."

"Yeah, I come back from the dead, no press," Spider-Man stated. "You do it, everyone's falling over themselves looking at you."

Luke Cage was across from them, gazing with concern at Hawkeye. "Never did tell us what happened with the Scarlet Witch."

"It's nothing," Hawkeye said in a tone that made it clear he didn't want to talk about it. "Nothing good, trust me." He paused and frowned at a figure staring at him more intently than others. She was a teenager but athletic with long black hair, dressed in a purple outfit with shaded visor. "I got something on my face?" he asked.

"No," the woman replied. "Just…" She sighed. "Sorry, I'm with the Young Avengers."

Hawkeye blinked and turned to the Wasp who was sitting next to him. "We're recruiting high schoolers now?"

"They formed on their own," the Wasp said. "Cap and Tony tried to talk to them, sway them away but they insisted on fighting."

"Ah," Hawkeye said as he turned back to the young woman. "Nice to meet you, kid. What's your moniker?"

"Um…Hawkeye," she softly said.

He blinked again. "Huh?"

"I just…you were dead and I didn't want it but people kept saying it fit," she shrugged. "If you want, you can have it back."

"No, I mean, I…" Clint shook his head. "I just can't believe someone would actually take up my name."

"Take it as a compliment, man," Luke stated.

"Just make sure it doesn't get out of control," Spider-Man said. "Just look how Drew let the whole Spider-Woman act get out of hand."

Hawkeye looked around. "So where's old Doc Strange? Figured he'd be trying to help out with the Hulk."

"He said he wants to stay out of the Registration battle," the Wasp said. "I'm assuming they tried to talk to him about this but he probably decided he did enough."

"Got that right," Luke snorted.

The Wasp sighed. "I'm not happy with it either, trust me. I knew Tony was manipulative but even for him this is a lot."

"Man's a sell-out." They looked up to see the Falcon nearby, a sour look on his face. "Always was. Puts himself on a higher pedestal than anyone and think he can make everything right by throwing enough money at it."

"Watch it, Wilson." The Falcon turned to see James Rhodes nearby, clad in a large black and white suit of armor, the helmet seeming to glower at him.

Wilson sniffed. "So he got you back into War Machine, huh? Damn, Rhodey, when you gonna stop picking up his scraps?"

"I ain't happy with what he did either but I understand his reasons," War Machine said as all conversation around them stopped and people focused on the two. "I've fought that monster before, I know what he can do. How many millions or billions of dollars in damage has he cost with no end in sight? They tried to deal with it, good for him."

Cage snorted. "Packing a guy up and shipping him off for the color of his skin? Oh yeah, real nice move, Rhodes. Then again, I guess an Uncle Tom would see it that way."

"Oh, shit, that's it." While Peter Parker would easily describe himself as the whitest person one could meet, he knew when a black man crossed the line with another black man. That was proven as War Machine stormed forward, his metallic arm pulling back for a punch. Cage was already out of his seat and ready to take it. The scientist in Peter had to admit curiosity as to what would happen when high-tech armor met impenetrable skin but figured getting out of the way was more important.

Just before the two men could come to blows, a loud siren wailed through the cafeteria. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look around in alarm. All the SHIELD agents instantly began moving toward the doors and their stations. The group of heroes turned to the door to see Captain America there. The look on his face made it clear the legend had seen the almost fight and was heavy with disappointment about it.

"The deadline is up," he announced in a loud voice. "Which means…"

Before he could finish it, a huge booming sound echoed from the city below. "The attack is on," Cap finished. "Get it together and get moving before we lose the city." He turned to march away as everyone prepared for the impossible battle ahead.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**So a bit more set up but next chapter we kick off the big battle and a few more twists to come. So keep the reviews coming. **


	5. Chapter 5

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

**Well, had the build-up, now it's time for the nitty gritty.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh my Lord." The Wasp's words pretty much spoke for everyone as they came across the heart of New York City. Smoke was pouring out from the middle with a large crater near Times Square. There was no sign of the Hulk but several of the alien soldiers could be seen scurrying about.

"Set down there," Cap ordered, pointing to a barricade set some distance away. A platoon of soldiers was already there with several tanks and heavy artillery. The trio of Quinjets landed along with several of the flying heroes. They soon filed out to be confronted by the leader of the troop.

"Oh, goodie, the clowns are here." General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross was munching hard on a cigar as he glared at the heroes. The old warhorse was dressed in fatigues, ready for war. "What now? The usual pattycake with him then say it was all a misunderstanding and let him go?"

"Not this time," War Machine boomed. "This time, we're taking him down once and for all."

Ross sniffed. "I'm sure. I'd rather put the military on this."

Spider-Man snorted under his mask. "Yeah, right. This is the Hulk, Ross. He's single-handedly kept tank developers in business for years with all he's smashed."

Captain America moved forward. "General, we both know that won't be enough for the Hulk and will only cause more damage to the city. We need to go in there. There could still be civilians in the combat zone and we need to get them out."

Ross took a drag on his cigar as he looked around. "Where's Stark and Richards?"

"Reed's at the Baxter Building with the Black Panther and Storm, figuring out a defense," Cap explained. "Tony should be here soon."

The whine of jets got everyone's attention as the dark shape of a Blackbird moved in for a landing. The doors opened to reveal a somber looking group of X-Men, Wolverine in the lead with Cyclops, the White Queen, Nightcrawler, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Madrox, Monet, Rogue, Angel and some others behind. A few still had some obvious bruises but all seemed ready for battle.

Cap turned to face them. "Are you sure…"

"Don't even try to keep us out of this," Wolverine snarled. "I'm putting him down once and for all."

Ross took a long drag on his cigar. "Fine, you've got your chance. I already told Washington there's no use trying a nuke, it'll just make him stronger. But if you don't get him…I'm rolling in whatever we have against him." He glared at the heroes. "So don't mess this up like you caped clowns seem to enjoy doing so much."

"I swear, he and Jonah _have_ to be related," Spider-Man muttered.

Cap nodded as he turned to the others. "Spread it out and get ready," he said in a flat voice. "We may only have one shot at this."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tony Stark stood before the assemblage of villains with a serious look on his face. "So that's the deal," he announced. "Go in, fight the Hulk and it'll be taken into consideration for your next parole. You might even get commuted to time served. So, who's in?"

The assemblage of costumed figures simply stared back, a few muttering to themselves. After a few moments, Otto Octavius rose to his feet, his metallic arms shuffling around him. Clearing his throat, the scientist spoke. "Mr. Stark, we have been ready for such an offer since this began. We have discussed it amongst ourselves and I believe I speak for most everyone when I say…."

"You can take this offer and shove it up your ass!" Taskmaster called out, several others yelling out agreement.

Tony blinked. "Excuse me?"

Doctor Octopus glared at the masked mercenary before speaking. "As uncouth as he may be, Taskmaster does sum up our feelings on this matter quite effectively."

"I'm offering you a chance for freedom," Stark said.

Venom snarled. "Yeah, right. Freedom with your freaky tech things inside us ready to turn us into jelly if you feel like it. I've got enough voices in my head without adding you to it, Stark!"

"More importantly," Moonstone said in her usually collected voice, throwing her blonde hair back behind her mask. "In order to achieve said freedom, we'd have to face the Hulk and his army. I don't think you need my psychiatric training to tell that the Hulk is at a point of rage where he's capable of most anything."

"We heard what he did to Osborn," Bullseye said, balancing a playing card between his fingers. "You think we're going to go against that? Or those freaky space monsters he's got with him? I may be a sociopath, Stark, but I ain't that nuts."

Stark glared at them all. "It's your planet too."

"Not for long the way the Hulk's going," Octopus said. "You can commandeer us, I'm sure but you're intelligent enough to know that won't help you. You need people willing to fight, not reluctant troops."

Tony took a deep breath. "If you don't agree…you're all being sent to the Negative Zone."

"At least we'll be alive," Taskmaster snapped. "Which is more than I can say for whoever you send after the Hulk. Not to mention that after he's done with this planet, the Negative Zone sounds like paradise."

Tony looked around but saw more acceptance of the position and sadly nodded to the guards. The villains were soon being led away but Moonstone strayed a bit to smile at Tony. "You know, Stark, I find it so ironic that you're the one who led this doom to us."

Stark glared at her. "You don't judge me, Sofen."

She just kept smiling. "No wonder you and Zemo managed to work together so well. You're really not that much different." Her smile remained as she walked away to leave Tony Stark once more questioning himself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I want photos, I want people on the streets, I want power and I want some new cigars, dammit!" As usual, J. Jonah Jameson didn't need any speaker to let everyone know what he wanted. The irascible publisher was in his office barking out the open door. The usually hectic newsroom was a bit quieter than most days with a smaller pack of reporters inside. There were still a few ready to do their jobs while Jameson ranted.

"Can we get the damn Internet working already?" he barked out.

Robbie Robertson raised an eyebrow, a calm before the storm. "I thought you hated the Internet."

"I do!" Jameson yelled from behind his desk. "But we need all the up to date info we can get since Urich hasn't called back in."

"Cell reception's a mess," Robbie told him. "The alien ship is blocking a lot of transmissions and there's the army too. It's impossible to get reception."

Jameson sniffed. "At least the presses work. How soon can we get the evening edition out?"

"Out where?" Robbie said. "Jonah, in case you haven't noticed, most of Manhatten is deserted and the people left aren't that interested in buying a newspaper."

"Doesn't matter, Robbie," Jameson said. "We've got a responsibility to put out what information we can to the public."

Robbie glanced at the mock up of the paper, which was much smaller than normal, lacking a sports section or much in ads. "So you decide to spend what pages we have ranting about how this is all the heroes' fault?"

"Don't defend them, Robbie," Jameson snarled. "You know Stark and Richards brought this on us."

"So after hailing Stark for doing the whole Act, you're going to tear him apart," Robbie said with anger. "Just like when you lied to him about doing a good support for the Avengers and tore into them unfairly."

"Unfairly?" Jameson snarled. "After what Parker did…"

"Oh, don't start that again, Jonah!" Robbie exclaimed. "God, are you seriously so blind that you never once asked yourself how it was that Peter was the _one _person who managed to get _all_ the photos of Spider-Man all the time?! Then again, he did manage to con you into thinking your own son was Spider-Man and I still don't know how you bought that for a minute…"

"He made a fool of me, Robbie."

"No, he just gave you an audience."

That got Jonah's attention. He was used to Robbie belittling him and making dry digs at him but this was different. The veteran was really laying into Jonah now. "Jonah, your attitude toward these heroes has helped lead to this act."

"Now wait a minute…"

"Peter Parker spent years…years!...putting his life on the line and all you did was treat him as an outlaw and a bigger menace than the Kingpin! After all he's lost too, you just keep harping on him and he just took it to get the word out on what he did. And after he makes a huge sacrifice and puts himself in danger by unmasking, you sue him for hurting your ego!"

"He abused the public trust…"

"And you haven't with all your menace headlines?" Robbie shook his head. "I swear, Jonah, I've spent years defending you and trying to hold you back. But if you let this obsession take hold of you, it's going to end you. The reason you're a laughing stock now isn't because of Peter, it's because you spent so long making him to be such a scumbag and now people know the truth. I always told you this obsession would destroy you, Jonah and now it is."

Jameson rubbed his brow. "Robbie, I'm just trying to do what I know to do."

"But you have to accept that you're not always right, Jonah," Robbie pressed. "Just like Stark and Richards." He waved at the window. "You see what that's led to, Jonah. You want to find something like that happening to you?"

He seemed ready to say more but stopped and instead stared outward, knowing Jameson would just accept his words. The typing of keyboards was the only sound for a long time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Brood Queen moved her insect-like head back and forth, sweeping over the landscape. "They are coming," she hissed. "I can feel the vibrations approach."

"They will bring their finest warriors," Korg intoned, his face as somber as the rock of his body.

"We have our own," Elloe Kaifi stated, her hand clutching around her large staff. "And we shall be the victors."

"Remember klik what the Green King klik said," Miek chippered. "Do not klik underestimate them."

The Brood sniffed as best as a creature with no nose could. "It does not matter. Against our forces, they shall experience the true savagery."

"I've already experienced that." The Brood looked up to see Ms Marvel standing above, glaring at him with anger. "I was so hoping to get a crack at you," she hissed as she fired out a blast of energy, Brood barely managing to dodge it.

"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" Captain America called out as he hurled his shield toward the alien troops. Korg managed to catch it and hurl it back as the others scattered about. Behind Cap, Spider-Man swung over and sprayed out a line of webbing toward Miek, nailing the insect's legs down. The creature hissed and tried to cut at the webbing as Spider-Man moved on to attack several of the soldiers.

Black Widow, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Hawkeye and several other of the more "ground" Avengers quickly moved in to attack the troops. That left the path open for the heavy hitters as Colossus, Strong Guy, Wonder Man and Hercules poured in to attack the larger forces. For Cap, it was a replay of the battle only a day before only now the heroes were all on the same side.

"Spread it out!" he called out. "They've got their forces around the city, make sure they don't get beyond the borders!" He saw a few of the Warbound breaking away from the pack. "Where is Reed?"

"Still at the Baxter Building!" Carol called down to him.

"Let him know he's got incoming!" Cap ducked a blow from an insect-liked soldier to smash his shield into his head and plow into the battle.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Atop the flat surface of the Baxter Building, Reed Richards' body was stretched all around a massive console. The rest of the Fantastic Four was nearby, all tense and ready. Also there were the Black Panther and his wife, Storm and the skies seemed to rumble with the agitation the mutant felt. "Almost there…" Reed muttered.

"You sure this will work?" Johnny Storm asked, his body already aflame.

"It should," Reed stated. "The shield it projects is the same wavelength as Sue's force fields so it should be able to contain any alien forces."

"Better hurry it up, Stretcho," the Thing said. "We're gonna have company soon."

The Panther stared out at the landscape with a sever expression under his mask. "I warned you all years ago this would come, Richards," he said.

"Not now, T'Challa," Reed answered.

"When then?" the Panther said. "I would have warned you of the dangers of sending Banner away, Richards, had you listened. But you and Stark decided to take this entirely upon yourselves and look at the results."

"Ah, guys?" the Human Torch piped up. "As much as I agree Reed needs to be tongue lashed, now's not the time." He pointed up to a small aerial carrier that held Korg, Elloe and Hiroim along with several soldiers.

"We just want Richards, Earthman," Korg rumbled.

"Gonna have to go through us to get him," the Thing snapped. "We may be pissed at him but Reed's family. You mess with him, you gotta take on the idol o' millions!"

"Fine by us," Elloe hissed as she leapt up, her staff blasting with energy at them. Sue threw up a force field to block the shots as Reed's fingers flew to make the last connections of the machine. The Human Torch lit up with a blast of flame that struck Korg dead on. The rocky figure simply came forward and blasted the Thing with a hard punch while the Panther used his fighting skills to battle the grunt soldiers, his knives flashing as he knocked them aside.

Storm was preparing to manipulate the elements and create a tornado to blast the aliens off the roof when a painful energy struck her. She gasped, falling back as she saw the strange Hiriom coming up, a staff flowing energy toward her. "It's best to just give in, mutant," he intoned. "The pain will cease once you do."

He could hear footsteps behind him and spun around in time to dodge the kicking attack by the Panther. The usually cool man was angered by the attack on his wife which made him a bit less focused than he could have been. Thus, while he was intent on stopping Hiriom, he could not dodge the blast fired by Elloe that knocked him down. Seeing stars, he was set upon by a dozen of the soldiers who pummeled him hard and even he could not stand up to them.

Reed was still moving to get the machine working as the Invisible Woman threw up a force field around them. "Johnny!"

"Can't go nova, sis!" her brother yelled back. "Panther and Storm are in the way!"

"The Green King was right," Elloe said as she fired a blast toward the flying Torch. "They are weak. Willing to kill from afar but not do what is necessary to achieve victory up close."

"Yeah, that's us, lady," the Thing said as he punched Korg hard. "We got this funny thing about saving lives."

"Tell that to the million dead on our world!"

"We never sent a bomb!" Reed said with a burst of anger.

"Spare us your lies," Korg said as he grabbed the Thing's arms. "Simply fall before our might." He bent back with a surprising burst of strength and leverage and before he knew it, the Thing was sent flying off the roof of the Baxter Building and to the street below.

Sue hissed as she felt the magic of Hiriom pound on her field. "Reed," she hissed. "Hurry." She held her hands out as Korg's fists now pounded on the field hard.

"Almost there…" Reed said as he stretched to grab a pair of wires. Just before he could touch them, a massive blast of electricity hit him dead on. He yelled in pain as his body, already stretched out, was weakened mightily by the sudden strike. "Reed!" Sue yelled, the brief distraction all Hiriom needed to send a blast around her shield and strike her from behind.

The warrior priest glanced up to a nearby troop carrier, nodding thanks to the commander with the electro-blaster. He looked down at the fallen Reed, whose body was still stretched out like a massive blue rubber band. "We have righteousness on our side, Earthling. That is why we shall prevail and you shall fall before the might of the Worldbreaker."

He turned in time to see the Torch brought down by the blasts of a dozen shock weapons. "Bring them to the ship," he intoned. "The Green King shall see to them later."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mara Hill had on a face angrier than usual as she burst into the lab. "This better be important, Pym," she snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, it's World War IV out there."

Pym frowned from his place at a console. "Don't you mean WWIII?"

"We passed that five minutes ago," Hill said. "What is this?"

Pym leaned back to tap a screen. "I was going over Norman Osborn's remains and I found something suspicious about the nanites in his blood."

Hill peered at the image of the enhanced bloodstream. "I'm short on time, Pym, spell it out for me."

Pym pointed. "These nanites are different than the ones we programmed. They were supposed to only monitor Osborn but these…these look like they've been reconfigured to push his rage and anger and get him irrational."

Hill frowned. "You think that's why he attacked the Hulk like that?"

Pym nodded. "I think so. The question is, who could have reworked the programming. Tony, Reed and I are the only ones who know how and none of us would have."

Hill stroked her chin in thought. "Hmm…told anyone else?"

"Not yet."

"Keep it that way," Hill said. "Until we know how this happened, assume there's some sort of leak."

"I don't know about…"

"Pym, in case you've forgotten, you were the one impersonated by Hulking."

"Good point," he admitted as he turned to the screen. "I'd better check the other inmates, see if they've been affected as well."

"Do that," Hill nodded. "I'll be back later." She marched out and down the hallway. As soon as she was halfway down, she removed a small cell phone and dialed a number. "Yes, it's me. Yes. Yes, I know you hate hearing from me, I don't want to speak like this either. But we may have a situation…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

James Rhodes stared out of his helmet with dark eyes. "You sure about this, Tony?" he asked the figure next to him.

"Don't try to talk me out of it," came the booming voice. Tony Stark was in a specially designed suit of armor that was about three times the size of his regular Iron Man suit. He sighed at it. "Damn, wish I had time to build it up more…"

"Tony, I know you feel guilty but throwing your life away is something else."

"I'm not throwing anything away, Rhodey," Stark said. "I'm doing what needs to be done."

"This is the Hulk, Tony," Rhodes said. "A Hulk who's pissed as hell which means stronger than ever. Even this super-suit may not be enough to stop him."

"But it can buy time," Tony said as he adjusted his helmet. "And whatever needs to be done is good. Besides, I made this mess, Rhodey. I need to be the one to clean it up."

"That's what you said with the Armor Wars and look how well that turned out." He followed Stark as the massive armor clunked toward the edge of the SHIELD hanger bay. "At least let me go with."

"You need to be backup," Tony told him. "And Rhodey…thanks. For everything."

"Hey…I know you have your reasons, man. And I know you always try to do the right thing."

Tony nodded. "Thanks." He turned toward the open bay doors. "Check with you later."

"Good luck, Tony," Rhodes whispered. The roar of the massive boot jets ignited as the super-sized Iron Man flew out of the Heli-Carrier and toward the battlefield. James Rhodes watched him go and tried to suppress the fear that this might be the last time he ever saw his best friend again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**So, yes, did get the conclusion to World War Hulk, which wasn't bad. But since there's no Sentry in this world, don't expect things to be the same. As you can tell, there is a bit of mystery about Hill that will pay off down the line so keep the reviews coming. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Civil War Hulk**

**By Michael Weyer**

**Just keeps flowing so here goes another chapter. **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tony Stark had known fear several times in his life. Most of them had come from within his armor as even the high-tech suit was often not enough to face the threats Tony often met up against. Now, that fear was still high as he rocketed toward the middle of the city. His faceplate showed several screens of the action, the other battles and a screen accessing SHIELD. "Any word from Reed?" he asked.

On board the Heli-Carrier, Sharon Carter shook her head. "We've lost contact with the Baxter Building. I think the Hulk's forces must have gotten to them."

"Damn," Tony muttered. "All right, tell everyone to give me a wide berth. I'm coming in hot."

"Good luck," Carter said as she signed off. Tony concentrated to hook his armor on. The manipulations of the Hulk's ship kept the Extremis from properly working with the various computer systems of the world. So Tony was back to "old school" working with his armor as he brought the weapons systems on line.

His scanner had little trouble picking up the Hulk. His gamma radiated body stood out like a neon sign even among the chaos of the battle and the destruction of the city. He hovered for a moment before activating one channel. "Steve…can you hear me?"

"I read you!" Cap's voice came in, Tony able to hear the battle behind him.

"Steve…" Tony paused. "I just…I really and truly believed this was the right thing. Bruce, the Act, the war, all of it…I only had the best intentions. Just…try to remember that."

"Tony…"

"Just needed to get that off my chest," Tony said. "Stay out of the fire zone." He hovered as he focused his targeting systems and then began to fly down. His arms were held upward, repulsors targeted as the large packs on his back began to open up. The Hulk turned and the screen showed the crosshair locking on right between his eyes as he smiled and spread out his hands in a "come and get me" pose.

Iron Man let loose with everything he had, his repulsors on full power as they blasted down. At the same time, the large ammo packs on his back erupted with fire as missiles, plasma beams and laser cannons blasted down toward the Hulk. Iron Man flew down to add to the power of the onslaught as he nailed the Hulk with enough power to lay waste to an entire city block, all condensed into one spot. The flame and smoke covered the spot where the Hulk lay instantly, obscuring Tony's sight of what was going on but he kept on firing.

Without warning, the Hulk was lunging out of the smoke and filling Tony's visor. He tried to check his speed but it was too late as the Hulk grabbed onto him. Tony gasped as he felt the armor on his arms being crushed around flesh, the pain overwhelming his commands. He tried to fight back but the grip was far too strong even for his armor. "I've been waiting for this," the Hulk growled.

"We…were just trying…to help you, Bruce…" Tony gritted out through the pain.

"Help yourself," the monster snarled. "Help rid the planet of me. Help kill me with the bomb."

"We never put…"

The Hulk's face smashed forward with a mighty headbutt and Tony howled out as he saw galaxies. The Hulk's feet smashed down on his boots and the duo spun around with the Hulk ending up on top. He punched Iron Man hard across the jaw as the duo began to spin downward toward the ground. Tony managed to get one arm loose and blasted him with a punch, ignoring the pain. He followed it with a full repulsor blast to the face at point blank range but the Hulk's grip around him remained tight.

The Hulk suddenly let go and before Tony could properly react, he had moved to a standing position, his feet on Tony's chest. Iron Man tried to get his boot jets working but the pain was preventing him from doing it with proper speed. It was added on as the Hulk kicked at him, sending him flying faster to the ground and thus Tony was unable to stop his momentum. He hit the ground hard, gasping for breath just before the Hulk smashed down on him with both feet. Tony let out a cry of agony as he felt his chest compartments cracked under the massive pressure and knew he had broken at least a couple of ribs.

"Let him alone!" The Hulk looked up to see Ms. Marvel flying down with her hands glowing with energy. With speed that once more belied his size, he grabbed the limp armored form, lifted it up and with a spin, hurled it right at her. Carol opened her arms to try and catch him but her own strength was not enough as Iron Man hit her full on and sent her flying backward at high speed. They smashed into the upper floors of Avengers Tower, the top of the building almost disintegrating.

The Hulk glanced over to Korg nearby. "Send someone to get the remains," he rumbled. "Make sure Stark's alive when he gets to the ship." He turned to go back into the fray.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

On board the Heli-Carrier, Hill was stone-faced as she watched the smashing of Avengers Tower. Her eyes flickered over the screens at the massive battles taking place all over the city. "Any word from the Captain America unit?" she asked.

"Not at the moment," Carter said with a sigh. "We may need to send units in."

"Negative," Hill snapped. "Until we know for sure, we hold back, give them a chance."

Carter glared. "Ma'am…"

"Those are orders, Carter," Hill said. "Now, anyone know what Pym is up to? I need a science update."

"He's not here," an agent said in an off-hand tone.

Hill's head snapped toward him. "What?"

The agent frowned. "He left the Heli-Carrier ten minutes ago, something about tracking down information."

"And no one told me?" Hill seemed furious. "Dammit, is there no respect for command here?" She turned to stalk off the bridge. "Carter, you got command till I get back!"

"Where are you…"

"Just do your job, Carter!" Hill yelled as she moved off. Carter frowned, feeling that there was something more behind her commander's sudden tantrum than there seemed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Like most of the city, Greenwich Village was deserted, the sounds of the battle echoing from a far distance away. Hank Pym flew before the famous house, growing back to human size as he landed on the door. He knocked on it hard and waited. He knocked again and called out. "Strange! Strange, it's Hank Pym! We need to talk!"

The door opened a crack to show Wong, the Asian manservant looking more tired than usual. "I am afraid Doctor Strange is resting, Pym. He has been through a great ordeal."

"So have all of us," Hank sighed. "Wong, this is important, please."

Wong shook his head. "I am afraid that…" He was cut off as Pym seemed to vanish before his eyes. By the time Wong realized he had shrunk down and flown in, it was too late as Pym regrew in the center of the foyer. "Strange!" he called out.

There was a pause and then Stephen Strange walked down the large steps. He appeared haggard, his face drawn and tired, dressed in a simple red robe instead of his usual blue suit and cape. "Hank," he said in a tired voice. "I really am not in the mood for company today."

"I know and I'm sorry but this is an emergency." Hank moved in. "I found something that I think you need to take a look at." He held up a vial containing what looked like tiny microchips.

Strange frowned as he studied it. "Hank, you know I am not a scientist, I…" He stopped and peered. "Wait…" He took the vial and held it to the light, noticing the slight glow around them. "These have been affected magically."

Hank nodded. "I know. I found them in the blood of Norman Osborn. The nanites were changed and I thought they were reprogrammed but it seems it's something else. Since you're the only major magician we know…"

"Why would Norman Osborn have nanites in him?" Strange interrupted.

"Part of Tony's big plan," Hank said. "I know, it does seem crazy but we needed the firepower for the anti-Registration forces and…"

"Registration?" Strange frowned. "What registration?"

Hank frowned back. "The SHRA, Strange. I know you try to stay out of the whole super hero politics but it was discussed by Tony and Reed at your last meeting."

Strange's eyes widened. "How do you know of that?"

"Well, after the Hulk blurted it out to everyone when he returned to Earth."

"Returned from where?"

Hank stared at him with a confused look. "From space where you guys sent him. Look, Stephen, it's sort of late to play dumb on this, everyone knows. They know you and Reed and Tony work together. In fact, I'm kinda surprised they didn't ask you to join the new team when the Avengers broke up." He was suddenly getting a bad feeling about this.

"Broke up?" Strange's frown had gone from confusion to downright dumbstruck. "The Avengers broke up? Why?"

Hank just stared. "After Wanda went nuts on us. You know that, you were there!"

Strange's confusion ended and was replaced by concern. "Hank…I have spent the last six months on a multi-dimensional quest that nearly cost me my life. I only just returned this morning. Whoever you saw…it was not me."

Hank no longer had a bad feeling about this. He had a horrible feeling about this.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hawkeye fired off an arrow at a solider that erupted in a cloud of tear gas. The creature kept coming and Barton cursed. "Damn, figures the guy has no nose."

"Just aim for the chest," Spider-Man said. "Works on Sandman." He fired a webbing at a wall as he lifted himself to latch onto it. He scurried up and leapt backward, timing it perfectly to land on a flying troop carrier. He punched at a trooper and leapt upward to dodge another's blow. He kicked out with both feet to knock other guards back before leaping off, firing a webline at the bottom of the craft. Landing on the building, he pulled, using the leverage to pull the craft back and fly it into the building, sending troopers flying off.

A loud growl got his attention and he looked down to see Wolverine slashing at every alien in his path in a wild bezerker rage. For once, Spider-Man wasn't in the mood to chastise him on keeping the body count down as the battle continued. He looked over to see the ruins of Avengers Tower and winced. "Crap…Cap, I think Tony struck out!"

"Thinking right, bug." Spidey looked up to see the Hulk leaping down at him with a huge fist. In the chaos of the battle, his spider-sense was a constant buzz that prevented him from identifying threats. His reflexes were still enough to avoid the blow as the Hulk smashed into the building, bounced off and landed on the ground.

Wolverine snarled and leapt toward him, claws extended to stab the Hulk in the chest. Without hesitation, the Canadian mutant slashed and hacked and clawed with a ferocity few had ever seen from him before. The Hulk actually let out yells of pain, unprepared for the full fury of the assault. It was joined moments later as Wolfsbane started to slice at him with just as much savagery as Wolverine. Nightcrawler began to teleport around him at various sports to stab and slice with a sword.

Wolverine was moving his hand back to strike at the Hulk's face when he gasped in agony, a barb sticking out of his chest. Miek pulled him back, snarling at him. "Leave alone klik the Green King!" He pulled the tail back to slam Wolverine onto the ground. That gave the Hulk the chance to smash back a fist at Wolfsbane, stunning her while the scars on his body started to heal.

A blow struck him courtesy of Captain America's shield. The Hulk scowled at the Star-Spangled Avenger nearby. "You don't wanna get in my way."

"Stop this now, Hulk!" Cap snapped. "Please, look at what you're doing!"

"I know what I'm doing!" he yelled back. "I'm getting justice."

"This is madness!"

"Madness is you against me," the Hulk said as he stormed forward.

"No," Cap said as he prepared himself. "That's just commitment." He bit his lip as the monster came toward him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Avengers Mansion was still mostly a ruin as Hank and Dr. Strange stood in the garden. The Sorcerer Supreme was in his usual outfit, the Eye of Agamatto glowing at the yard. It was showing images Hank knew all too well, images of that horrible, horrible day when the Scarlet Witch went mad.

"This…is ridiculous," Strange intoned.

Hank sighed. "Yeah, it was a crazy time."

"No, not that," Strange said. "I mean this…all of this. No such thing as chaos magic? Of course, there's chaos magic! And since when has the Witch no memory of her children existing, we talked about it afterward!"

Hank frowned. "Well, we figured she lost them after that whole Onslaught thing, pretty much avoided mentioning it."

Strange shook his head as he watched it unfold. "She never had this power. Not at all. All she could do was manipulate probabilities, not rewrite reality in such a fashion."

Hank stared at him. "But…we were all there, Strange. We saw how this happened, we saw her fighting us."

"You also saw me," Strange noted. "And as I said, I was not there so it is clear something is wrong." He turned back to the yard and spread out his hands as he muttered under his breath. A shimmer came over the area as Hank felt a chill go through him. "What's going on?"

"I am attempting to fix on the various energies of this area," Strange intoned. "Obviously, there was some magic at work to fool all of you not to mention Wanda's abilities." The Eye shimmered, its glow dimming and the image faded away. "What of this 'House of M' you mentioned?"

"Oh, damn, do I have to go through that again?" With a deep sigh, Hank did his absolute best to summarize the entire insane alternate reality that the world had been put through thanks to the magic of the Witch, ending with her depowering the mutant population.

Finally finishing, Hank became aware of the look on Strange's face, which mixed disbelief with what looked like amusement. "Hank, please do not take this as disrespect…but exactly how foolish were you all to believe that?"

He just gaped. "Huh?"

Strange rubbed his temple. "I just told you, Wanda's power was never so great as to change the world around her. But altering an entire reality? Even I cannot simply conjure something like that. It would require one of much, much greater power than that and had something so massive occurred, I would have been notified immediately. Even on my dangerous sojourn, I left wards to warn me of such a danger and they would alerted me to this."

He turned to pace the yard. "No…no, whatever this 'House of M' was, it was not a true reality." He paused and thought about it. "You said not everyone remembers?" At Hank's nod, Strange stroked his beard. "Hmmm…it sounds to me like a massive dream spell, specifically targeted toward certain individuals."

Hank's jaw dropped once more. "A dream? You're telling me…we dreamed all that?! But…but what about that Miller girl? Or M Day?"

"That….is something else," Strange said. "I was aware of a difference in the feeling of the world upon my return but did not have time to focus on it. However, it is possible that magic could have been at work to draw those energies away. For what purpose, I cannot be certain."

"Of course not, Strange," came a familiar voice. "You always do fail to see the details in front of you."

Strange and Hank spun around as a figure materialized before them who was a dead ringer for Strange, uniform and all, but with a twisted smile on his face. "That was really the most difficult part in impersonating you," the other Doctor Strange said. "Trying to keep from laughing while acting like such a fool."

Strange's eyes narrowed as he brought his hands up in a defensive position. "Reveal yourself."

With a dark chuckle, the imposter's form blurred and reconfigured into a new shape. It was a man roughly Strange's age with a paunchy build, clad in a dark green suit with a flowing black cape. His head was balding with a thick mustache and beard and his lips were curled into a sneer. "Hello, Strange. It's been a long time."

"Baron Mordo," Strange said with little surprise. "Of course. Only another taught by the Ancient One could pull off such an impersonation."

"You don't seem surprised to see me alive again, Strange," Mordo said, seemingly taking no notice of the stunned Pym.

"I had always suspected you would find a way back," Strange stated. "My compliments on how well you pulled off this subterfuge. I only ask why? Why go to such lengths to get at me?"

"You?" Mordo let out a loud laugh. "Oh, Strange, Strange, Strange. It's so ironic that I'm the one accused of being a madman and yet you're the one who's got the ego to assume everything that happens in the magical world must be connected to you somehow."

Strange's hands started to glow. "I do not wish to fight you, Mordo but unless you answer me."

"I do believe my…associate can do that better than I can." Mordo nodded to someone behind them. Strange was turning around when a blast of energy struck him across the chest. He cried out in agony at the blow, far greater than he expected. Before he realized it, the energies wound around him, tying his hands and arms down, preventing him from striking back.

Hank was ready to move but another bolt struck him and knocked him down. He winced as he held his pained chest and looked to the figure stepping into the light. His jaw dropped as he saw Mara Hill there, one of her hands glowing brightly with energy. "H---Hill?!" He choked. "How…what are you…"

Hill's lips were twisted in a sneer as she looked to the fallen hero. "Of all of them, I never thought you would be the one to come close to figuring it all out, Pym. Thankfully, you were foolish enough to tell me first so I could contact Mordo and arrange this little trap."

Pym hissed as he felt the same magical energies bind him to the ground. He tried to shrink but pain answered the move and he realized the bonds were preventing his powers. "Hill, I don't know what the hell you're planning but…"

"What I am planning, Doctor," she said as she came forward. "Is my revenge. My ultimate revenge." Her eyes had a dark glow and her voice had a tremor that Pym had never heard before, one of power…and darkness…and something familiar.

"Revenge?" Pym choked. "Against who? Fury?"

Hill shook her head. "Fury? I could care less for that mortal fool. Although I am grateful his own actions led to him vacating leadership so I could step into power. It gave me the authority I needed to let my ultimate plans come forth."

"Plans?" Pym said. "Dammit, Hill, what the hell are you talking about?!"

She smiled. "Hill? Mara Hill has been dead for a long, long time, Hank Pym. Her form has suited me well, however…but I do believe now it may be finally time to lift the façade…"

Her body suddenly shimmered as Mordo's had but with brighter light and power.

"And let my true face come forth." Hills's voice was suddenly much deeper and booming with a tight accent to it. Her body grew in size, her breasts melting away as the jumpsuit transformed into an elaborate green outfit marked with yellow. The face became more sunken, the smile growing into a hideous grin as the eyes shimmered with power and utter joy.

Hank Pym was frozen in place, not by the magic but by utter shock and horror as he saw the figure before him. His mind reeled even as the scientist in him took this new piece of data, fit it into the equation and realized the true solution. "No…Not you…It can't be…you."

"Who else, Pym?" the man before him said. "Who else could conceive such a brilliant revenge against his most hated foes? A revenge that will pave the way to my power? Only I, mortal. My brilliant drama has finally reached its grand climax. Your pitiful fellow heroes shall fall. This world shall fall."

He threw back his horned golden helmet and let out a loud laugh of pure triumph as he finished his proclamation. "And at long last, victory shall belong…to LOKI!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Next chapter will have the answers to questions many are no doubt asking as well as more smackdowns going around. So hope to keep the comments going. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Civil War Hulk**

**By Michael Weyer**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

For one who didn't know him too well, Steve Rogers would appear to be either suicidal or mad. He was a normal man with no special powers or abilities, armed with only a metal shield, taking on the most powerful being on the planet, who had already utterly defeated so many super-powered beings.

But having known Captain America longer and better than anyone, Hawkeye and the Falcon knew the man was not so reckless as to throw himself away. He had a plan. Just what it was appeared unclear but he had to have one. He brought his shield up to smash it into the Hulk's midsection and dodged the brute's fist. "Clint!" he called out. "I need a double dare!"

Nodding, Hawkeye brought up a pair of arrows and fired them at the Hulk. He raised his fist to catch them and snap them in half. "That supposed to work, archer?" he grunted.

"Nah," Hawkeye said with a grin. "Just supposed to distract you." There was a sudden rush of loud chirping and cawing. The Hulk turned to see the Falcon floating above as a flock of birds of various types flew down and clawed, bit and pecked at the brute. The Hulk howled with rage as he swung out his arms to knock some aside but more kept coming at him.

A blast of fire suddenly engulfed him, frying the birds to a crisp. Eilloe moved in, her staff smoking with energy as she fired another blast toward Hawkeye who managed to leap out of the way. Korg was also there, attacking Spider-Man as a slew of alien troops came toward them.

"Give up!" the Hulk bellowed, his skin already healing from the fire. "You can't win!"

"I'm not letting you leave this city!" Cap snapped.

The Hulk chuckled. "I've got Stark, Richards and Black Bolt, Captain. And about half the guys who came in here with you. I don't need to go anywhere. It's not why I'm here."

"Well, Broadway's closed so I'm afraid a showing of _Spamalot_ is out of the question," Spider-Man quipped as he fired a webline at Korg which did little to slow the rocky figure.

Hawkeye cursed as he backed up, reaching to his quiver. "Cap…I hate to say it but I think a tactical withdrawal might be called for here!"

"Not like you give up, Barton!" The Falcon called as he avoided a laser blast.

"Yeah, well, death has a way of making you a little more cautious," Hawkeye replied. "We ain't doing the rest any good by staying here and going down too!"

Cap bit his lip. He hated the idea of retreating but knew Hawkeye had a point. "Fall back! Everyone fall back!"

"I've got you covered!" She-Hulk bounded in to lunge at her cousin, smashing him across the jaw with a fist. Hawkeye brought out a trio of smoke arrows and fired, sending up a cloud before the Warbound. "Anyone still standing, we are bugging out of here!"

She-Hulk punched again. "Dammit, Bruce, just stand down already! This is getting insane!"

The Hulk grabbed her fist and squeezed, She-Hulk crying out as she heard bones break. She looked into the green eyes and was chilled at the coldness there. "Stop calling me Bruce." He hauled back and belted her with a savage blow that sent her sprawling to the ground.

Cap soon raced down a street, Falcon, Hawkeye, Emma Frost, Spider-Man, the Wasp and Cyclops following. Cyclops paused as he saw Wolverine slashing at some aliens. "Logan, we're pulling out!"

"Not leaving yet, Summers!"

"That's an order, Mister!"

"Not interested!" The mutant was bringing his claw hand back when a tangle of webbing hit it and he felt himself yanked backward. "Oh, I'm so dead," Spider-Man muttered even as he and Falcon dragged Wolverine back.

Cap paused at a street as he saw another wave of aliens at the opposite end. "We're cut off," he muttered. "We need another way out!"

There was the whine of rocket fire and the air around the aliens erupted in a loud explosion, sending shrapnel and pieces of flesh flying. A figure leapt from a nearby rooftop and opened up with a pair of large machine guns, the armor-piercing rounds ripping through alien skin as easily as human. As the last of the group slumped, the figure turned to reveal the large skull emblazoned upon his black jumpsuit.

"Oh, great," Spider-Man muttered. "I should have known Mr. Terrific would be fitting in around here."

The Punisher glared at the group. "Come with me if you want to live."

"You've been dying to say that for years, haven't you?" the Falcon remarked.

Captain America glared back at the vigilante. "I told you last time…"

"You wanna argue or survive?" the Punisher snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, this is war."

"He's right." The group turned to see a young man in a dark blue suit and black mask approach, his right arm sheathed in metal. "You've got to accept how things are different, Cap."

"Bucky?" Cap frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Winter Soldier," his former partner corrected. "I was in town helping Fury on stuff when things went nuts. Figured you'd need the help."

Hawkeye leaned in toward the Widow. "Is that…" At her nod, he whistled. "Damn, no one really stays dead…"

"Actually, he wasn't dead at all," the Widow told him. "The Soviets found him alive, brainwashed him into their own assassin and put him in suspended animation between missions."

Hawkeye stared at her. "You do realize how insane that sounds."

"Actually, that's perfectly normal compared to my life," Spider-Man intoned.

"As much as I hate to ruin the moment…actually, no, I don't…" the White Queen said. "But can we get to someplace resembling safety first?"

"Follow us," the Winter Soldier said as he turned to head down a secondary alley. He reached down to use his bionic arm to lift up a manhole. "Everyone down!" he yelled as he leapt into the sewers. The others swiftly followed, Spider-Man the last. He closed the manhole, then sprayed webbing onto the edges to hold the lid in place before following the rest down the wet and stank-infested sewerway.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hank Pym winced in pain as the magical constraints around him tightened once more. He craned his head to see Doctor Strange and Wong in much the same predicament. All three were floating off the floor of Strange's home, held aloft by green-colored bands that encased them entirely.

Before the imprisoned trio, Baron Mordo's face was one of pure triumph. "Ah, I've been dreaming of this day for so long, Strange."

"I had hoped you repented before your death, Mordo," Strange said.

"The underworld disagreed," the Baron said with a glowering expression. "I learned to hate you once more, Strange. And so, when Loki came to me, I was ready to accept his offer."

The God of Mischief was lounging on a large chair, legs crossed, sipping from a goblet. "Ah, I do love a good wine. And a good war."

Pym shook his head. "How….how can you be alive? We heard Thor brought about…"

"Rangkork?" Loki smirked in amusement. "Please, Pym. I am the God of Mischief and Trickery. Does thou honestly believe I wouldst not hath prepared for such an event centuries ago? I knew such a day was to come and prepared for it. Of course, it helped that what occurred was not the true Rangkork."

Both Strange and Pym were startled at that. "What?" Strange asked. "But the fall of the Gods…"

"Not fall as in death, Strange. The true Rangkoark be the end of all things. When that occurs, your world will also be extinguished. What my dolt of a half-brother did was merely place the Norse Gods into a form of suspended animation, spreading their essences across the universe. As I said, I was prepared for such an event thanks to certain…bargains I had made long ago."

Strange slowly nodded. "No doubt in exchange for secrets you had long kept."

Loki tapped his forehead. "Indeed. Knowledge is power, especially among the dark circles. I was able to barter such for…sanctuary, if you will, from the overall effects of the spell. It took time, of course, to rebuild mine strength and plan my ultimate revenge. Fortunately, the good Baron here was an aid in achieving mine goals."

"In return for being brought to life, of course," Strange deduced.

"That was part of it," Mordo said. "But I admit, when he detailed his plans…I was more than happy to take part no matter what my price."

Hank stared at Loki as his mind clicked upon the truth. "Wanda…you were the one behind her breakdown."

Loki nodded with obvious pride. "Correct, Pym. Long hath my eye been on that mutant and her great power. With the aid of Mordo, I found a way to latch onto her, to manipulate mine power and wishes onto her already weary mind. With Strange gone on his quest, twas simple for Mordo to impersonate him with a spell and aid in our scheme. All that was required then was the right amount of power to persuade you all that the good Witch had gone mad."

Hank shook his head as he tried to take it all in. "So…it wasn't Wanda…it was you."

"All three of us, really," Mordo said. "It was easy to warp her mind to her children as their loss still haunted her." He smirked. "I have to say, I honestly did not believe that even my spells to cloud minds would work so well and prevent you all from wondering why Strange would say there was no such thing as chaos magic or act like the Witch's madness had been long coming."

Loki sniffed. "As I well know, mortal minds hath always been easy to fool. Such it was as the events we engineered finally saw those accursed Avengers torn apart and scattered." His face became more downcast. "But my hopes they were gone forever were cast aside when once more events conspired to bring those 'heroes' together. Thus, a new tactic was called for."

Hank's eyes widened. "The Act?"

"Nay, your own politicians had created that. But I aid in pushing it along. As well as giving certain…nudges to the minds of your compatriots."

"Oh, God," Hank moaned. "You mean…That's why they were so intent on sending Bruce away. Somehow, you managed to manipulate their minds…"

Loki laughed. "Oh, don't start giving them so much credit, Pym. That warlord from the future managed to twist his mind, you think I could not? And for Richards, his intellect may be great but it leaves him open for my machinations. He puts so much faith in his science, it took little effort to convince him his calculations be truth." He nodded to Mordo. "And of course, Mordo was there to help the illusions and subtle pushes along."

Strange tried to remain calm. He knew the egos of Loki and Mordo were making them continue to confess their full actions and hoped it would buy him time to figure out a way to escape. "Why the Hulk? Why work so hard to send him away?"

"Partly because I still owed the brute for past embarrassments," the evil god said. "But also because his presence would unbalance so many of my plans. Sending him off this world was for the good of all, as I managed to convince your compatriots of. I had hoped he would perish but I must admit some joy at how his return has worked into things."

Hank's mind whirled as he realized the depth of Loki's manipulations. "So…the House of M? M-Day?"

Loki and Mordo shared a glance then a loud laugh. "I have to admit," Mordo said. "I haven't laughed so hard in ages when you all so easily accepted that a mere mutant was able to totally restructure reality."

"Had Strange truly been there," Loki gloated. "He would hath been able to see through it all and informed thee of the truth. Dream spells are so easy to conjure though more difficult to spread out, thus only a few remembered it. But that ended up simply solidifying it all in their minds. I was, after all, giving them their deepest desires and we all know how well that can sway people."

"And M Day?" Hank pressed.

"My power….had limits at the time," Loki was forced to admit. "Thus siphoning it away from the mutant population was mine best choice. It played into events nicely and allowed me a measure of revenge upon those accursed X-Men for their long ago slight upon me."

Strange nodded as he took it all in. "So…I assume Stamford was your doing as well?"

"As much as I would love to take credit, that was the manipulation of some other party," Loki stated. "But I did not unappreciate how well did work into mine own plans. It was the drive to install the Act and thus the war that waged afterward."

"And that's why you did all this?" Hank asked. "For revenge on us?" 

Loki's face darkened. "Did thou believe I had forgotten the humiliation thou bestowed upon me, Pym? That I was responsible for the creation of your band of heroes? I never have. I have waited and planned and plotted this revenge for so long. To see you all destroy yourselves is giving me more amusement than I have felt in an age."

"And that's all you have planned?" Hank asked. "Just to see us in pain and that's it?"

Mordo chuckled. "Oh, we have more in store, Pym. Much more. You shall see."

"Indeed. There is no need to spoil the rest of our sordid schemes." Loki sipped from his goblet and smiled wickedly. "But be sure there be far more drama to come. And in the end…tis I who shall be at center stage. Be grateful for thy sake I appreciate a captive audience."

The dark laughter of he and Mordo caused the three captives to shiver as they realized the true danger facing the world.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The base that had been used by the Anti-Registration forces was still in good shape despite the quick exit the forces had made just before the attack. There had been a new addition in the form of a large rack piled with various types of weapons which the Punisher was going over carefully.

Cap was leaning on the large conference table looking down at the people before him. A few stragglers had managed to come in, figuring this would be a good place to regroup thus Tigra, War Machine, the Young Avengers and a few others had joined the rest. But that still left a lot of heavy hitters absent.

Taking a deep breath, Cap spoke. "All right…We need to figure out a new plan of attack."

"Frontal assaults are too dangerous," the Winter Soldier said in a calm voice. "Plus we don't know the status of the others."

"I don't think the Hulk would kill them," the Wasp said. "He's been talking too much about paying them back to simply execute them."

"No, he'll kill them," the Punisher grunted, his back to them all. "He wants justice. He'll do what it takes to get it."

Captain America glared at him. "Not all of us equate justice with murder, Castle."

"I prefer extermination."

"Can we pick a better term than that?" Spider-Man said with a wince.

Hawkeye rubbed his forehead. "Damn, I know we're in trouble but are we really so desperate we need the Punisher?"

"You're damn right you need me," the Punisher turned to them. "I'm the only one who knows what real war is."

"I think we'd argue that point," Winter Soldier retorted, nodding to Cap.

The Punisher snorted. "If you're such a soldier, Rogers, you'd know killing is necessary. Besides, these things aren't even human."

"I'm not crossing that line," Cap snapped.

"Maybe you should." The Punisher pointed to him. "How many lives would you have saved if you'd just put the Red Skull down years ago?" He looked to Spider-Man. "Or if you'd had the guts to take down Osborn?"

Spider-Man crossed his arms. "I do that, I'm no better than he was."

"You don't kill innocents, you're better. You're definitely better than Stark taking everything in his own hands to exile the Hulk. He should have just put a bullet in Banner and had done with it."

"Tony doesn't kill," Captain America said.

"And we see the results of that," the Punisher offered. "At least I make the world a better place without that scum. I don't see why my help is so bad when Tony was taking on Bullseye."

"Hate to say it, but he does raise a point," Patriot offered.

"That was wrong and so are you," Cap snapped to the Punisher. "The whole point of this battle is that we stand for something in these masks. We lose that and we don't deserve the public trust at all."

The Punisher shook his head. "I've seen too much of the 'public trust' let killers go free. I prefer working without that headache."

"As much as I enjoy such a lovely philosophical debate," Emma Frost interrupted. "I do believe we require something approaching a plan?"

"She's right," Cyclops said. "If we're going to get into that ship to rescue the others…"

"We may not need to," the Winter Soldier said. "We've been tracking movements by his troops in town. It looks like they've got something else going on in the city, lots of construction work going around."

Cap frowned. "Where?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Madison Square Garden was notable for its famous domed roof that held everything from basketball to wrestling. That roof had been ripped apart, peeled open to expose the Garden interior to the sky, an interior that was being reshaped by various beings, the Hulk in the center of it all.

"What the hell is he doing?" the President asked. He was shown on one monitor watching the same feed as SHIELD was. Sharon Carter stood on the Heli-Carrrier deck, trying to appear calm while her emotions were pained thinking of Captain America.

"From what he said in his address when he returned, Mr. President," she calmly said. "The Hulk had landed on some sort of gladiator world and rose up in games there. My guess is, he's recreating that."

"And I can wager who's going to be fed to the lions or whatever he's got," the President muttered. He sighed. "This is a mess…a total mess. And no word from Hill?"

Carter shook her head. "No, sir. She's gone totally off-grid and we have no idea where she could be."

The President bit his lip as if trying to convince himself of something. "Well…then I got no choice, do I?"

"Sir?" Carter asked.

The President brought himself up. "I know I'm going to hear it about this from a lot of the UN but I don't care. Right now, we need SHIELD at their best and that's going to happen when you're running around with your heads chopped off. So, effective immediately, I'm issuing a Presidential pardon to the one man I know can whip you all into shape and actually run things around there?"

"Who?" Carter asked even as she suspected the answer. Right on cue, the doors behind her opened and a figure stormed in with an aura of absolute authority. Everyone stared in amazement before many broke out in wide smiles and even a few cheers.

The figure paused only to light a cigar and made his way to the command deck, staring at the monitors before him with his single eye. "All right, ya yardbirds!" Colonel Nick Fury barked. "Amateur night is over! Papa Fury is back in charge and that means it's time to get down to business!"

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**This ended up slightly longer than I had planned but next chapter brings more of the gladiator games and Loki's revelations. Keep reviews coming. **


	8. Chapter 8

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

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The pain was far-reaching as Tony Stark awoke. He'd been knocked unconscious more times than he cared to count but the pain was even greater this time. It took a moment for him to realize that the Extremis was adding on to the pain with its hypersensitive system. He reached to his face to rub it and realized that his armor had been stripped from him, just a thin sheet of synthetic metal over his skin.

He glanced around his surroundings to see he was in some sort of cell with force fields keeping him inside. He felt a nagging pain at his shoulder and looked to see some sort of glowing disc on it. He was reaching for it when he heard a voice. "Don't try it."

Tony looked to see Ms. Marvel nearby, seemingly as weakened as he was. He realized there were a few others in the cell such as Hercules and the Fantastic Four along with other heroes, all of whom had similar discs on them. "I tried it before," Carol Denvers told him. "Thing shocks the hell out of you."

"They are obedience discs." Everyone looked up to see Korg standing before the cells, his rocky face as impassive as ever. "Created by the rulers of Skarrar long ago. They ensure you are…compliant with our wishes."

"Which are what?" the Black Panther called from an adjourning cell with Storm.

"That is for the Green King to decide," Korg stated. "Be certain that you will be punished for your crimes."

"What crimes?" Reed demanded. "We meant to send the Hulk to safety."

"And in doing so, you granted us our Green King," Korg stated, his face growing darker. "But you also killed a million of our own."

"We never sent any bomb!" Tony protested.

"The Green King will deal with your lies," the alien said as he nodded to the guards beside him. "Come, all of you. He awaits."

"Maybe we don't feel like going," the Human Torch snapped. He suddenly howled as the disc sparked with energy and shocked him, sending him to his knees.

"It was not a request," Korg rumbled as the cells were opened and the group was led away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What in the hell is he doing to the Garden?" the Falcon muttered at the image on the satellites. He was checking out the large screens inside the base with the rest of the group that showed an aerial view of the exposed arena. The bleachers had been mostly cleared away although many aliens could be seen waiting, looking down at the central area that had been razed to the basement.

"Hey, if it stops the Knicks from playing this season, it's probably a good thing," Spider-Man intoned.

Cyclops was, of course, more serious. "The Hulk said he landed on some sort of gladiator planet. It looks like he wants to replicate it."

"And one guess who he intends to throw onto the roster first to battle to the death," Wolverine grunted.

"And you can bet NBC will try to turn it into a reality show."

"Stop stealing my material, Barton!"

"Sorry, Pete."

Captain America was silent as he took in the scenes. "We need to get in there. That's the Hulk base of power. If we can free all of them inside, we may be able to take him down."

"That's the heart of the viper, Cap," Winter Soldier said. He paused and smiled. "Kinda like that fortress in '43."

"Which one?" The two old comrades shared a smile. It was ended as a flashing light came onto one screen. "Crap, we're being hacked!" Patriot called out.

"No," Cap said as he hit some buttons. "It's an incoming transmission on a SHIELD signal."

"I thought this was one of Fury's hidden places," the Falcon said.

"It is," Cap muttered as hit a button. "Which means…" The screen lit up to show Nick Fury on the deck of the Heli-Carrier, smoking a cigar as he nodded to the other side of the connection. "Nice to see ya again, Cap."

"Fury." Despite the way their alliance ended, Cap still managed a small smile. "You're back."

"Amazing what a major crisis and a Presidential pardon can do," Fury intoned. "I'm assuming you're seeing the same stuff we are?"

Cap nodded. "We are. It looks like he intends to create some sort of twisted games. We need to find a way in."

Fury took a drag on his cigar. "Gonna be tough. I'm betting he'll have all exits covered below and above so even a sneak strike team is going to be in trouble."

"I can't believe we're talking about the Hulk as a tactical genius," Emma Frost scoffed.

"It ain't the same Hulk, Frost," Fury snapped. "And I ain't gonna make the old mistake of getting ready to fight the last war. He's smarter and tougher and while he may be content with New York for now, I'm betting that won't last."

"What's the international take?" Cap asked.

"Oh, it's just peachy," Fury said. "The moment Hulk and his folks leave the continent, Europe, China, Russia and Middle East are ready to fire anything they got at him, damn the consequences."

"Nice to see times haven't changed much," Winter Solider noted.

"We have to at least try," Cap said. "I know the odds are dire but we don't have a choice."

"You're right," the Punisher grunted as he turned to the screen. "You got anything special up your sleeve to take him out for good, Fury?"

Cap glared at him. "We're not…"

"We are." Cap's head whipped around to Fury. "Sorry, Cap but this comes from the top and I agree with it. He's gone way, way too far here. And like I said, the rest of the world is ready to hit us with all they got if we can't stop him."

The Winter Soldier let out a tired sigh. "He's right, Cap. I know I'm not as close as you are but you know we have to take a threat this big out as fast as we can. He's already killed, he's crossed the line. He needs to be put down once and for all."

Cap rubbed at his forehead. As much as he wanted to keep this from going that far, he knew the choices were limited. "First we need to find a way inside."

"Yeah, might be able ta help ya with that," Fury said. "Gotta warn ya, it ain't gonna be pretty."

"What a shock," Hawkeye muttered. "I really should have just stayed dead."

"You may get your wish soon."

"You're a real downer sometimes, Pete."

"It's how I roll."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So this is what Rome was like," Tony muttered as he was pushed into the large arena. The guards were tight around the captured heroes, not that they were really needed with the obedience discs in place. The majority of the attention was being paid to the struggle taking place within the center of the arena.

It took a few moments for everyone to recognize the form of the Abomination as he fought against the Hulk. The brute was unhampered by an obedience disc as he did his best to stand against the Hulk. It was clear that he was losing badly, the Hulk smashing one savage blow after another, green blood pouring from several wounds in the Abomination's leathery skin.

The creature snarled and punched twice at the Hulk's face, neither blow seemingly having any effect. The Hulk smashed a blow that drew more blood before grabbing the Abomination's arm and twisting it, producing a savage cracking and a high-pierced howl. The Hulk brought both fists together to smash into the Abomination's face, sending him down to his knees.

The Abomination looked up with defiance, sneering at the Hulk. "What…what now, Banner? Pummel me more and send me away?"

The Hulk did not reply but held up a fist, his thumb extended outward at the side. There was a series of loud cheers from the watching crowd with fists extended outward, thumbs down. The Hulk gazed around to take it all in and then turned his own thumb down to a massive cheer.

The Hulk gazed down and Emil Blonsky felt a chill go through his body as he saw the cold, dead certainty in the other creature's eyes. "You knew it had to end this way," the Hulk said as he reached forward to take his old enemy's head in his hands. He gave a hard twist to the right and the echo of the snapping neck reverberated throughout the arena.

"Oh my God," She-Hulk whispered. The sight of the Abomination's body slumping to the ground, his head twisted nearly perfectly around, was the final straw in her defense for her cousin. She realized at last that what had been done to him had killed Bruce Banner and left only the Hulk behind. Which meant they were in far worse trouble than she had imagined.

The Hulk backed away as a set of aliens raced out to collect the body. His green eyes scanned over the captive heroes as he marched his way toward a nearby throne. "My intent," he announced. "Was to punish you all, not kill you. But now…" He took a deep breath. "Now, I see that's not enough. Not enough to show the world what you are. Not enough to make up for the million dead on Skarrar. No…no, I need to do more."

"So you're moving from justice to murder," Mr. Fantastic intoned.

The Hulk glared at him. "You murdered a million souls, Richards. You've got no right to lecture to me."

"For God's sake, Bruce, we never…"

"Quiet," the Hulk barked. "It's time to pay for your sins, all of you." He motioned to the Warbound who began to pull Reed and Tony away from the rest. "Too bad Strange isn't here but you two are the ones I wanted anyway."

"Reed!" Sue cried but a charge of her disc from Elloie stopped her from going to the field.

The Hulk grinned at the two men as he motioned to the other side of the arena and a large crate being brought in. "It's trial by combat, humans. Kill or be killed. Time to get your own hands dirty for a change."

He tossed a pair of large axes to their feet as the roar of the horrid creature inside the crate roared out, a roar matched by the cheers of the bloodthirsty crowd. And for one of the few times in his life, Reed Richards had absolutely no clue what to do.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Ever wonder if SHIELD even has accountants?" Spider-Man asked from his spot on the ceiling. "You just look at all the stuff they spend billions on and you have to wonder…"

He shuffled his feet to allow them to get a better grip on the hull as the entire surface around him shook. The strike group of heroes were crammed into a circular craft that resembled a massive drill, a huge bore plowing into the earth before them. The craft had a fancy nickname from its designers but most of the SHIELD personnel had nicknamed it "The Moler." That name didn't come by accident.

"For a guy who lives underground with no access to modern tech, the Mole Man comes up with good craft," Hawkeye noted. "Seems it took SHIELD only a few years to improve this much on one of his recovered machines."

"Yeah, always great to see more secrets being kept," the Falcon darkly intoned. He and War Machine were openly keeping their distance as the craft rumbled its way underground. The Moler had been kept in a SHIELD facility in New Jersey as it was being completed which made it a good spot to begin its drive. The craft's purpose was to move soldiers underground, where they wouldn't be noticed by opposing troops, a nice gambit that was getting its first tryout here.

Captain America checked the readouts as he piloted the craft along. "We should be coming up underneath the Garden in a few minutes," he called out.

"Sure they wouldn't notice the rumbling?" Winter Soldier asked.

"We're coming up nearby," Cap told him. "And Fury says he'll arrange a distraction for us to get in. Even so, we're coming up blind so we have to be careful."

"We have to hit them hard and fast," the Punisher intoned as he checked his weaponry. "No quarter, no time to raise an alarm."

"We'll seperate once we get up there," Cap said. "Sam, Clint, Peter and Logan are with me. Castle and Bucky can take the other two teams."

"What's the plan?" Falcon asked, all business.

"I'll lead a team to try and rescue the hostages," Cap said. "While the satellites have been unable to get through the jamming the Hulk's ships are sending out, it does seem he's using some sort of disc to hold the hostages in place. There has to be a central power source to deactivate them."

"And the rest of us do our best to hold the Hulk and his forces back," War Machine guessed.

Cap nodded. "It won't be easy but it's the best chance we've got."

Emma Frost rubbed at her temples. "I'm getting very uncomfortable flashbacks to George Custer…"

"I'd prefer Washington at the Delaware," Winter Soldier said. "The more daring plans often work."

"Even if we manage to take down his Warbound," Hawkeye pointed out. "That still leaves the Green Bean. I mean, I don't know if even all of us combined can be able to take him down."

"Fury will have that covered." The tone of his voice indicated Cap didn't like that idea but had no choice in the matter. He checked the readouts again to see the target site coming up. "Everyone stand ready. We're coming up at the target area."

Wolverine stubbed his cigar out on the nearest wall. "I got the Hulk myself."

"You obey my orders, Logan," Cap snapped.

"Didn't do it back in '41, ain't doing it now," the mutant fired back.

War Machine grunted. "Some folks don't do as well obeying orders, Cap."

"Yeah, we can't all be sellouts," the Falcon fired at him.

"Button it down," Cap ordered as he pulled back on the controls. He set his jaw, the familiar feeling coming over him as he prepared himself for the fight of a lifetime.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tony grunted both from exertion and pain as he brought the large mace down to the ground. Reed managed to avoid it, twisting his body in time, a bit jarred at not being able to simply stretch out of the way. Nearby, the carcass of a large beast that resembled a tiger with spikes along its back lay on the side, having been defeated, barely, by the two men.

But now, they were battling each other thanks to the Hulk's commands. The Green Goliath sat upon his throne watching them with a bemused expression. He gave no indication of joy or anger, simply watched the two friends try to kill each other. The rest of the heroes watched with worry as the aliens were also transfixed, although still alert to send out shocks to keep them in place.

"Can't…concentrate to….override discs," Tony hissed as he dodged a strike from Reed. "Trying but…"

"Keep…trying," Reed bit out as he swung the mace again, sweat on his brow. "We need to…"

"My King?" Hiriom whispered to the Hulk. "I believe the time…"

"I know," the Hulk said. "I'm ready for it."

The priest nodded and backed up watching the duo fight. Reed managed to stretch enough to dodge another strike from Tony and punch him in the jaw. The man gasped as he fell to his knees, blood dripping from his chin as Reed raised his hand up. "Tony…I'm sorry…" he bit out.

"One..second…" Tony was reaching for the mace to try and defend himself when suddenly the ground shook. Everyone except the Hulk seemed confused as the shaking continued and then a large drill plowed out of the earth, pointing skyward. It kept going as the entire craft erupted out of the ground, aiming at the sky before settling down to the ground.

It took a few seconds for those in the Moler to realize they were in the middle of the Garden, several dozen yards away from their intended goal. In that brief span of time, the Hulk bounded from his throne and landed on the drill, smashing it in half. He reached forward to grab the Moler and lifted the craft up, smashing it into the ground three times. He climbed onto the fallen craft and reached to peel off the top of its hull, seeing the stunned passengers inside. "Was wondering when you'd come already," he said with a smile.

The Punisher was raising his guns but a blast of energy from Hirom stunned him. A horde of the aliens entered, led by Korg, grabbing the heroes and yanking them out of the Moler. They were soon forced to their knees as the Hulk stood before them, sneering. "So predictable, always thinking of me as a fool."

"And we have no basis for that assumption," Spider-Man couldn't help quipping.

The Hulk ignored him. "You think I wouldn't be expecting this? I've had my tech squads keeping an eye on all sorts of SHIELD technology, ready to send out a signal to throw off any tracking you might have and lead you here."

Captain America stood up and faced the Hulk, his face resolute. "You can kill us if you want, Hulk. But you won't conquer us."

The sound of hands clapping echoed throughout the arena. Heads whipped around to try and figure out the source. "Ah, dear Captain. I so missed thy lovely histrionics on insurmountable odds."

With a flash of light, Dr. Strange and Hank Pym landed before the throne, both decidedly worse for wear. Another flash and a tall figure in a green outfit, gold cape and horned helmet appeared with Mordo standing nearby.

_"Loki?!" _Half a dozen voices gasped out at once.

The God of Mischief smiled and nodded to them all. "Aye, my old foes. Tis the God thou believed thou defeated long ago. Long hath I awaited this day and now…now, mine plans hath finally born fruit."

The Wasp looked down to the fallen Hank. "Hank…?"

He spat out some blood before speaking. "It's…it's been him all along. Wanda, Hill, the Act, the War…it's all been him."

"Not all, Pym," Loki stated. "Having gone to such lengths to disband they pack of fools, I had not expected thou to reform due that breakout of criminals. Mine was not the hand behind that although did work out well in mine plans."

"So…all of this was revenge," Cap said, recovering. "Including sending the Hulk away." Reed and Tony both stared with equal parts shock and relief at this revelation.

As Loki nodded, the brute's eyes narrowed. "So….guess I should add you to the pile, shouldn't I?"

Loki smiled and shook his head. "Nay, Hulk, I believe I may offer thee a boon, one thou shall no doubt wish to accept."

"Oh, really?" the Hulk scoffed. "And what would that be?"

Loki's smile vanished as he threw out his hand at the same time Mordo held up his. From both exited bolts of energy that hit the Hulk straight in the chest. He let out a howl, a howl of pain greater than anyone had ever head as green energy covered him completely. The Warbound were quick to raise their weapons and move in but a wave of the hand from Loki held them back.

"What in the hell are they doing?" Tony gasped

Strange's face was one of horror. "Oh no…No, he cannot…he must not…"

With a final howl of utter rage and pain, the Hulk threw out his hands and something seemed to exit from his body. The light faded as he collapsed to his knees beside a pale shape lying on the ground. The figure was a small and slight man with dark brown hair and simple purple pants, heaving for breath, his face looking as if it hadn't seen the sun in months.

From his spot among the heroes, Rick Jones felt his jaw drop. "Bruce?" he whispered as he stared at the body of Bruce Banner lying next to the Hulk.

Strange stared at the figure, then at Mordo. "What have you done?" he whispered.

Mordo smiled. "Why, simply given Banner what he always wanted, Stephen. We freed him from the Hulk, once and for all. He is a mere human, free at last."

She-Hulk stared at the body, then over to the massive figure nearby. It took a moment to realize that the Hulk seemed to have grown in size, his muscles more pronounced as he knelt, his head bowed down. The Warbound were just as jarred as everyone, Miek slowly moving forward. "Hulk? Hulk are you klik all right?"

A wind picked up and blew through the arena as the Hulk slowly rose. He was taller by a few feet, the power seeming to exude from him. But it was his face that got everyone's attention, twisted and dark and showing no sign of humanity whatsoever. "Never better," he said and he smiled, a horrible sight to behold.

"Oh, dear God," Hawkeye said.

Reed swallowed. "He's not Bruce anymore. No remorse, no guilt, no humanity at all."

"He is the World Breaker!" Korg called out. "He is our King forever."

The Hulk looked down at Banner who was staring with shock at his former self. He looked up to Loki and nodded. "So…I'm assuming I'm supposed to feel indebted to you?" His voice was rougher than usual and also contained a taste of twisted menace.

Loki smiled. "Thou may try to attack me if thou wishes. But perhaps would be better to simply take thy revenge upon those who sent you away and then depart this planet? Great is the universe, a wide array of new worlds thou may make thy own."

"And leave you Earth." The Hulk paused and nodded. "Fine. Do what you want, waste them all or enslave them." He looked down at the frozen human below him. "Just let me do what I've been wanting to do for years."

"Bruce!" She-Hulk leaped forward but a blast from the disc sent her down in a quivering heap. The newly arrived heroes were held back by the aliens as the skies overhead filled with dark clouds.

The Hulk lifted up a large foot and held it over Banner. "Puny Banner…All that time saying you were the strong one of us…and you're the one who's gonna be turned into mulch."

Loki smiled as the wind picked up. "Aye, Hulk. Take thy revenge and leave this planet to me. At last, at long last, I shall answer thee for the humiliation thou bestowed upon me so long ago. Thy planet shall fall to ruin and I shall be the one thy people turn to for need and aid."

The wind picked up more as he threw out his arms and cried out to the heavens. "This world shalt become the new Asgard! And I, Loki, shall be it's All-Father now and forevermore!"

**"I say thee NAY!"**

And the skies exploded.

The winds howled with the fury of a hurricane, typhoon and tornado combined, ripping guns out of hands and blowing aliens back. Lightning struck downward to blast sections of the arena and send more alien troops flying back to avoid the blasts. More lightning struck the Stone Ship overhead, pieces of its hull flying in all directions. Yet despite its fury, the storm did not appear to overly affect the buildings of the city, as if localized over the Garden itself.

"Ororo?" the Black Panther called out over the howling winds.

Storm shook her head. "I cannot use my powers…it is not me…"

The Hulk was frowning when something streaked downward and smashed into his jaw, knocking him away from Banner. Loki was stunned at the sight, his eyes focusing on the object that flew away from the hulk: a piece of stone attached to a mallet.

"Nay," he whispered, his face going pale. "It cannot be….no…no…NO!"

"AYE."

A flash of lightning illuminated the shadow of a figure hovering above the Garden. All could see the muscular body, the horned helmet and the cape flowing behind him. Then the lightning faded to reveal the face and body. The body was clad in a uniform mostly familiar but different as well with chain mail over its leggings and arms. The helmet was more pointed to show the face beneath it.

The blond hair whipped around it, the handsome features in a stern expression as he held his hammer in his hands, the mallet crackling with energy. His eyes flashed with anger, with power, with regal majesty no clone or android or combination of the above could possibly duplicate. There was no mistaking this was the real man as the eyes fixed upon the figure of Loki. The green-garbed god did his best not to openly cower as the new arrival stood mid-air, the elements howling around him and spoke in a voice that rumbled with the fury of the North Seas.

"Brother. I shall have words with thee."

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**Damn, been wanting to do that last scene so long. Hope it met with approval and expectations, keep reviews coming.**


	9. Chapter 9

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

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"Is that…?" Spider-Man whispered, not daring to hope.

Hawkeye had a huge grin stuck on his face. "It is. It really is. The big guy's back."

Thor lowered himself to a spot on a nearby broken riser, his stern gaze focused on the shocked Loki. "Didst thou truly believe only thee could escape Rangkork, brother? Mine was the hand that brought it about but I was prepared to survive if need be."

Loki swallowed. "But…how could…how…"

"When thou finally revealed thyself, thou called to me." Thor glared. "Too long hath I excused thy crimes for the blood of the father we shared." His hammer crackled with energy. "But as of now, Loki…I consider you my brother nevermore."

A roar echoed as the Hulk lunged upward toward Thor. The God of Thunder swung Mjolnir down, the Uru hammer smashing into the Hulk's jaw and sending him flying to the ground. The impact sent shockwaves around the arena, knocking Baron Mordo back to the ground, stunned.

Captain America got to his feet quickly, his shield loosened and flying through the air at Elloie. The warrior was too distracted by the Hulk to properly block the blow and the shield sliced through her staff, cutting it in two. Sparks flew around the arena as the various obedience discs, cut from their power and control source, short-circuited.

Tony hissed as he tore at his, feeling his control restoring as he sent out a mental command to his armor. The other heroes felt strength and control returning as they moved out into the arena. Captain America looked them over and nodded. "Hit them hard, hit them fast!" He turned to face the massing alien forces.

"AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mordo hissed as he got back to his feet, brushing at his uniform. He saw the heroes charging into the alien forces and fights break out. He backed up as he tried to decide his next move.

"Mordo!" the Baron turned at the voice to see Strange back on his feet. His cloak was billowing behind him as he gazed at his old foe. "This has ever been between us. Let us make an end of it."

Mordo smiled. "For once, Strange, I could not agree with you more." He threw out his hands to send bolts of magic outward. Strange defended himself with his own energies as the two wizards began their own combat.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The lightning struck downward again to send more aliens flying outward. "Keep them contained in the Garden!" Cap yelled out as he slammed his shield into one figure's face. "We don't need them ravaging the city!"

Iron Man was nearby blasting his repulsors outward, his armor back on. "Carol, Simon, Storm, make sure exits are covered and keep an eye out for flyers!"

Hawkeye fired off two arrows, pinning back another soldier. "Anyone seen the big green one?"

"I think Thor's taking care of him!" The Human Torch cried out as he fired a burst of flame. "But we've got more than enough to keep us busy!"

Mr. Fantastic stretched himself over the body of Bruce Banner who lay on the ground still. "Bruce, are you okay?"

"I….can't hear him…in my head…" Bruce coughed. "He's…really…out of me…"

She-Hulk was by his side, taking his hand to help him up. "Come on, Bruce, we gotta get you out of here."

Bruce swallowed and looked to Reed. "Reed…I…still pissed at you…which means he's even more pissed…without me, his reasoning might be fading, less tactical…That might be a chance for you."

Reed nodded. "Bruce…We didn't mean…"

"Time for apologies later," She-Hulk said as she took Banner in her arms and raced to a safe spot in the arena as the combat continued.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Four blocks from the Garden, Thor and the Hulk were locked in combat, smashing each other with blows so savage that the sound waves shattered windows. The Hulk was a being of pure rage, all reason leaving him as he attacked with blows that would cause a human being to turn into pulp instantly, even one as strong as Wonder Man.

But the being he was fighting was not a human being. It was the God of Thunder, back from a long absence whose strength appeared to have grown even greater as proven by the powerful blows he leveled at the Hulk's face. "Thou….shall fall!" he hissed.

"Not….by…you!" the Hulk fired back as he smashed a meaty fist onto Thor's face. Thor let Mjlinoir swing up and smash into the Hulk with energy flowing to enhance the blow. The Hulk was sent sailing back into a building, smashing all the way through the lower floors and to the street.

Thor was about to follow when he sensed someone behind him. He turned to see a rocky figure standing with a spear in hand. "Korg…" Thor muttered. "Tis been a long time. But my fight be not with you." 

Korg's face was impassive as he gripped the spear. "My honor was lost in my defeat to you, Thunder God. I will face you and regain it."

"Thy honor is not served following the Hulk."

"He is my King and we are his Warbound." Korg replied. "I stand with him now."

Thor held his hammer high. "I be busy with your King." A lightning bolt struck downward to send Korg flying back. Thor heard the roar behind him and turned just in time to see the Hulk's fist rock into his face. He sailed through the air and smashed into the fifth floor of a nearby building, sailing all the way through it. The Hulk was there in an instant, smashing his fists into the lower part of the building to try and bring it down.

A pair of fists hammered into his back causing the Hulk to stop his pounding. He turned to see another double-fisted blow coming to his face. He stumbled back, his eyes clearing to see Hercules before him, the Olympian throwing another punch and another to send the Hulk back.

Hercules glanced up to see Thor coming back out of the building. "Ho, Thor! Tis good to see you returned!"

"Thank ye, Hercules," Thor said. "But let us save our reunion for later, after the battle be won."

Hercules cracked his knuckles as they turned to the Hulk. "Whoever brings this brute down shall buy the first cask of mead?"

Thor shook his head with a slight smile. "Thou hath not changed, old friend."

The Hulk grunted as he smashed his palms together, sending out a shockwave that knocked the two eternals back. "Not gonna be happening," he growled as he lunged forward to let the battle continue.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Heli-Carrier was in a frenzy as data on the battle came to them. Fury stood on the bridge, the calm in the storm, literally. The wild weather of Thor was forcing the Heli-Carrier to take a higher position over the city to avoid damage. It also marred some of their surveillance and ability to get people into the field.

Fury took a drag on his cigar as he watched one viewscreen. "Someone mind telling me what the hell is going on? We've got Banner and the Hulk separate, we got Thor back, Loki running around somewhere and a damn magic battle raging on. And you're telling me we can't send anything into that?"

Sharon Carter shook her head. "The winds are way too high, sir and with all that chaos going on, adding more troops would just confuse matters."

Fury nodded. "Well, there's one thing we can do. Bring us about and ready all batteries to open fire on that ship of theirs!"

That got several startled looks. "But sir," one technician said. "Their firepower…"

"They got most of their guys on the ground, remember?" Fury barked. "And I'm betting that the big guy did some damage to them. So bring us about so we can do more!"

Everyone knew better than to argue with their boss in that sort of mood and thus the Heli-Carrier was soon moving toward the huge ship hanging in the sky.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At the sound of the explosions, Thunderbolt Ross frowned and moved forward, his binoculars up and focusing on the sky. He saw the Heli-Carrier blasting out missiles and cannons at the Stone Ship, taking chunks out of it. Ross lowered his glasses and turned to the captain at his side. "Send out the tank division!"

The officer started. "Sir?"

"I'll be damned if I let those fancy spy jokers take the glory here!" Ross called out to the commanders behind him. "Move in and target that thing! Let loose with all we got!"

Within moments, several tanks were in position, sending shells flying up into the sky and striking the craft, joined by some missile-carrying soldiers. The Stone Ship fired back with its powerful lasers, the SHIELD craft managing to hold up to the blasts while the tanks were just out of range. Soon, more pieces of the ship began to break apart under the assault as the battle beneath raged on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"The mothership is under attack!" Hirom called out as he fired a burst from his staff at the X-Men. "We must send reinforcements!"

"We have none!" Elloie yelled back as she fired her own blaster outward. "We must rely on the Green King!"

"Hulk klik Will not fail us klik !" Miek called out as he swung his spiked hands outward at those around him. "Hulk will klik smash all around us and------"

He was cut off as a metal bar smacked him from behind. He rolled on the ground in pain as Bruce Banner moved in, his eyes hard and cold. "You…" he hissed as he swung out to strike the alien's body. "You miserable little insect….It's all because of you!"

"The hell?" The Thing grumbled. "Did some of Hulk get left behind?"

"Tell them," Bruce hissed. "Tell them what happened!"

"Bruce, what are you talking about?" She-Hulk asked.

"I'm a physicist," Bruce hissed, his eyes fixed on the fallen Miek. "I know there's no way that reactor could have just waited until that precise minute to blow after so many months. And I know Reed would never send a bomb like that if they were exiling Hulk to a peaceful planet." His eyes narrowed. "And after that bombing, you were the one leading the charge to get back to Earth."

The aliens around were listening and staring at Miek who seemed suddenly quiet. "Miek?" Elloie whispered. "What is he saying?"

The alien was silent until Banner pressed on his throat with the bar. "We needed the Green Scar!" he hissed. "We needed klik the anger of the Hulk! With Creia klik he was giving up….settling down…." His eyes narrowed. "Hulk was my klik first friend! I will do anything klik to aid him! We needed his anger returned! So when I saw klik the Red King's men load the old reactor in…." 

The Brood's spiked tail smashed into his face, drawing yellow blood. "A million hivelings!" she cried out. "Our world devastated! How could you?!" The rest of the Warbound appeared shocked speechless by this revelation.

"We could not klik lose our King!"

Banner's pipe smashed into his forehead, knocking the alien senseless. He glared up at the Warbound. "So that's why you're here. To get payback on a planet that never did you harm."

Hirom swallowed. "I…we did not know…"

"Now you do," Captain America said as he stepped up. "So now you have a choice. Keep fighting us for a cause that's no longer relevant or end this."

Hirom's face stiffened. "We are still his Warbound. We are still sworn to aid our Green King…"

His words were cut off as a massive earthquake struck, throwing everyone off-balance. The only ones not effected were Strange and Mordo who had taken to the skies as they continued their magical battle, seemingly oblivious to all else. Pieces of the Garden's structure came loose around them as everyone tried to recover. "The hell was that?" the Thing gasped.

Cap looked to the skies. "The Hulk…"

Iron Man spoke as he focused on the readings coming before him. "That was a single footstep. A couple more like that on that scale of power…And we lose half the Eastern Seaboard." He paused and then ignited his jets and took off.

"Tony!" Cap called out.

"I started this, Cap!" Iron Man yelled. "Damned if I'm not going to help finish it!"

Cap cursed and turned back to the Warbound. "So which is it going to be? Help us or let another world be destroyed?"

Dead silence met his question.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The shockwaves echoed loud and powerful as the Hulk, Hercules and Thor exchanged blow after blow. Against the power of the two godlings and the mystical hammer, even the mightiest of Asgardians would fall. But the Hulk kept coming and even seemed stronger as he did, despite the bruises evident on his twisted face.

Hercules snarled as he let loose a blow that cracked the metal arm brace, causing the Hulk to howl in pain. Seeing the reaction, Thor brought Mjolnir down upon it, cracking it further and allowing Hercules to tear it off and punch at it. The Hulk howled again and lashed out at them to knock them back.

He was ready to attack again when the whine of boot jets came out and Iron Man flew down, blasting with his repulsors on full blast. They struck at the Hulk who stumbled but did not fall as Iron Man flew right in and smashed his fists into the Hulk, knocking him back.

Iron Man turned to Thor. "Thor…it's good to see you."

Thor was not smiling. "Wouldst I could say the same. Difficult thou has been, Tony Stark. But to clone mine body for a killer is too great a strain for our friendship."

"Thor, I was trying…" Iron Man sighed. "Look, we don't have time to argue the point."

The laughter of Loki echoed as the God of Mischief appeared above them. "Ah, brother, I see thy choice of friends still is lacking."

Iron Man glared at him. "Loki….after what you made me do…"

"Made?" Loki smiled. "Nay, Stark, I merely gave you a mental nudge in the right direction. Thou had the hair of my brother for many a year before. Thou hast always wanted more control of the future. All I did was speed up the process thy mind would have taken." 

Thor glared at his brother. "When the Hulk be dealt with, Loki, I shall turn mine attention to thee."

Loki laughed. "Ah, brother, in case thou hast not noticed, it is only thee against the Hulk now."

A soft smile came to Thor's lips. "Loki…hast thou not asked what delayed me in coming here so long after thou revealed thyself?"

Loki's smile vanished. "What sayst thou?"

"Contrary to what thou thinks, Loki, a fool I be not," Thor said. "I was busy recruiting what thou hast never had. Friends."

The Hulk had gotten back to his feet and was about to rush in when a large shadow fell over him. He looked up to see a massive figure smash down onto him. The figure bounced on the Hulk, a huge man who appeared twice as big as a sumo wrestler with a bushy orange beard, purple outfit and cap. Two more men dropped down next to him. One was a dashingly handsome man with blond hair and goatee in a green outfit, clutching a sword. The other was a grim-faced man with a bushy black beard and black outfit with fur cap and a mace in one hand.

Loki's eyes widened in shock. "The Warriors Three?!"

"Aye, God of Evil!" Fandral the Dashing said. "Thor hath found us in our mortal guises and returned us to our rightful state."

"Returned in time to help him against thee," Hogun the Grim growled.

Volstagg the Voluminous grunted as he kept his more than ample rear rested on the Hulk. "Hmph. This be the monster who hath caused so much destruction and fear? Against the great Volstagg, he be silenced."

"No doubt tis hard to speak when one is crushed under thy girth," Hogun dryly stated.

A bellowing roar echoed as the Hulk suddenly threw off the huge mass atop of him, Volstagg sent flying back into the street, creating a sizeable crater. The Hulk seemed even larger, his skin glowing as he lashed out against everyone in sight. Iron Man managed to avoid the fists as his scanners moved over the form before him. "Oh, God," he whispered as he activated the comlink. "Reed? Reed, if you can hear me, I need some help here!"

Right on cue, She-Hulk leapt in to pound on the Hulk's face, knocking him back. Hogun and Fandral joined her in smacking the Hulk with their weapons while Volstagg tried to lift himself up, a difficult task.

"Tony?" Reed's voice came over the comlink. "We're almost settled here and…"

"Reed," Iron Man interrupted. "The gamma radiation coming off the Hulk is almost off the charts! It's almost as if he's getting more energy the more he fights!"

Reed was silent for a second as his mind whirled. "Without Bruce to keep him in check, his mind is totally absorbed by the gamma radiation…So the more he exerts, the more radiation flows."

"At the rate he's going…" Tony hissed. "He's gonna hit critical mass in a few minutes and if that happens…"

"We're looking at a gamma bomb explosion that could wipe out the whole city," Reed exclaimed. "We need to find a way to contain him."

"Forget containment," a growling voice echoed. "It's time to bring him down." Tony turned his head to see a figure stride onto the battlefield. He was clad in black armor with a large helmet, a huge axe held in his hands and a large grin on his face.

Hercules' eyes widened in surprise. "_Ares?" _

"It's been a while, my half-sibling," the God of War noted.

"What are you doing here?" Hercules said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I was avoiding that little scuffle your 'champions' had gotten themselves into," Ares replied. "But this…this is a fight worth my time." He hefted the axe to show the alien blood staining its edge. With a yell, Ares threw himself at the Hulk, his axe cleaving a massive cut across the green chest.

Hercules blinked before smiling. "Never did I think I'd say this but I'm happy to see Ares! Victory is now assured!"

"I think that's out of the question now," Iron Man said as he watched the Asgardians smash into the Hulk with little avail. "Where's Strange?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The energies of the skies flowed and rolled as the magical battle of the two wizards continued. Mordo had strength but Strange was able to counter with his own magics, creating shapes of daggers and axes to counter Mordo's power.

"Give it up, Strange!" Mordo cried out. "Your powers are far too weak compared to mine!"

Strange grit his teeth. "It is one thing to have the power, Mordo. There is also the way one uses it."

"I used it well in my impersonation of you, Strange," Mordo said as he fired out a fireball.

Strange deflected it as he soberly shook his head. "You may have taken my form, Mordo but not my spirit or my heart."

The bearded wizard sniffed. "Still so proud of yourself, Strange. And I was the one cast down."

"I pity you, Mordo," Strange softly said. "I wish I could hate you as it would be easier. But no, only pity fills me when I see you."

"Save your pity, Strange!" Mordo snapped as his hands glowed. "Your power is too weak to stand against me and you cannot simply defeat me now!"

Strange's expression remained neutral but his eyes seemed to glimmer with some anger. "As always, Mordo, you continue to underestimate me. True magic is not the power one wields but how it is wielded. You never understood that no matter one's faults, he is always capable of rising high."

"Will you shut up already?!" Mordo hissed as he fired out another ball of magical energy. A purple shield blocked it as Strange swept out his hands. A pair of golden magical cuffs encircled Mordo's wrists, pulling them forward to bind them together. As much as he struggled, the evil magician could not break them. "What have you…" 

Strange spoke out in an ancient tongue as the bindings around Mordo grew tighter and grew. As much as he struggled, the evil mage was unable to stop the manacles from growing into a full-on magical straitjacket that bound him tightly, only his enraged face visible. "You…cannot defeat me! I am Baron Mordo!"

"And I am Stephen Strange," his enemy said in a voice colder than Mordo had ever heard. "The Sorcerer Supreme, protector of this realm. You abused my power and the trust I had with others, Mordo. Thus it is my duty to ensure you abuse no one ever again."

The Eye of Amagamatto slowly opened, a blinding gleam striking Mordo's trapped form. "Damn you, Strange!" he cried out, fear in his voice. "You…will not…take me…!"

Strange did not reply but whispered his incantations again. Mordo cried out as he felt his body begin to shrink and be pulled toward the light. "No…no, you cannot do this to me!"

"You wished the power of the Eye for yourself," Strange solemnly intoned. "Now, you shall have it. Farewell, Mordo."

"You have not heard the last of me, Straaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaange!" were the last words of Baron Mordo which echoed like a squeak as his shrunken form vanished into the Eye which swiftly closed. Strange leaned back, letting out a large breath as his body reacted with exhaustion from the battle.

"Strange!" He turned to see Ms. Marvel land before him. "We need your help!"

Strange nodded as he gathered his strength. One part of the battle was over but there was more yet to come.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Oddly, the thing going through Jennifer Walters' head was how many years the insurance adjustors were going to be dealing with the damage. After all, earthquake coverage was pretty much non-existent in Manhattan so there were going to be quite a few angry homeowners and business people around when the city was repopulated.

Assuming there would be a city left, of course.

She tightened her grip around the Hulk's neck, doing her best to keep him back as Ares and Hercules pounded him with dual blows. Despite her knowledge that there was no Bruce Banner within him, it was still difficult for her to let loose with the Hulk. Of course, she knew the time to hold back was fast vanishing and she'd need to let him have it soon if the various eternals here failed.

The Hulk was still flaying about at anyone nearby and it was clear his reasoning was fading fast, leaving his more savage instincts bare. Iron Man was continuing to fire repulsors at him while avoiding striking the godlings doing battle, the only ones who could really stand up to the Hulk now. Ares was still smiling even as the Hulk managed to strike him across the face, obviously relishing the fight.

A long blue arm reached around to wrap the Hulk's own arm and pull. Reed hissed as he did his best to pull it back. Cap's shield flew in to smack at the Hulk's face and try to knock him back. That didn't seem enough as the brute kept on going, yanking Reed off his feet and sending him sailing off.

"He's still rising in power!" Iron Man called out as he checked the readings. "Thor! Strange! We need to get him out of here!"

"Banishing him didn't work before!" Captain America yelled out.

"Not by the means of this plane," Thor stated. "But perhaps…"

"What are you saying?" Ares yelled. "We can still defeat him!"

"Only if we let all of New York be destroyed!" Iron Man yelled.

"Your point?" Ares asked in utter seriousness.

"This plane of reality be not enough to contain this beast," Thor said as he backed up. "Strange! I need thy aid!"

Strange moved in quickly. "What is it?"

Thor began to swing his hammer in a wide circle and Strange felt the dimensional energies flowing from it. "A portal to the distant parts of fallen Asgard! A place where none tread now, far from any who can be harmed!"

"Sending him away?" Cap glared. "Isn't that what got us here in the first place?"

"He shall not return this time," a grave voice echoed. Korg moved up, Hiriom, Elloie and Brood behind him, all with serious expressions. It was clear the others had told Korg the truth behind Miek's actions. "We shall ensure that."

The Hulk appeared jarred. "What?" his voice echoed, now a savage growl.

"We were wrong to simply follow you like this, Hulk," Hiriom said. "But we are still your Warbound. We will still protect you. Even if that means protecting you from yourself."

Strange was concentrating on the opening portal in the air before them and knew what Thor needed. He let his own magics flow to keep it steady and ensure it did not spill its own deadly energies onto Earth. Korg gave Thor a simple nod of respect as he lunged to grab the Hulk. The Hulk fought back but Hiriom and Elloie were there to help Korg push him toward the portal. At the same time, Strange flicked his fingers and a sudden vacuum began to pull the Hulk towards it.

The Hulk's mouth was open in rage, the betrayal of the Warbound extinguishing all thought and if not for the pull of the portal he would be on them all. "How do we know you won't come back?" Captain America cried out over the new wind.

"I'll make sure they don't decide to help him." Ares' mace smashed into the Hulk's face, knocking him back a few more steps towards the portal.

Hercules stared in surprise at his half-sibling. "Ares, what…"

"Stuck on another plane, locked in battle with a hideous creature for the rest of time?" The God of War grinned. "Sounds like a better reward than Elysium could ever give me." The smile faded. "Hercules…I know we have had our differences but promise me…Promise my son will be safe."

"He will," Hercules said, true concern showing for once. "I swear to thee."

Ares nodded back before leaping forward with a loud war cry to tackle the Hulk dead on. That was enough to push the Hulk back, off his feet and the suction of the portal did the rest. The Hulk tried to give one last push but the Warbound and Ares held strong. A loud blast of wind heralded their exit from the earthly plane, combined with the Hulk's scream of rage and Ares' loud laughter.

As soon as they were inside, Thor slammed Mjlinoir into the ground and the portal winked out of existence. Dead silence filled the streets as everyone stared at the spot, not able to believe it was all finally done.

"He's gone?" Captain America finally asked. "I mean…he's truly gone?"

"Even before the fall of Asgard, that be a place most desolate," Thor said with a nod. "Even should he defeat his Warbound and Ares, he cannot find a way back."

"Let's hope not," Iron Man said with a loud sigh. "I guess that's almost it."

"Not quite," She-Hulk said as she looked around. "Where's Loki?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

If there was one thing he had learned in his millennia of existence, it was when it was time for a god to get out of town.

Loki had watched as the Hulk and the others were sucked in, not able to believe all his schemes had come undone. He knew it wouldn't be long before they focused their attention on him so he turned to prepare to leave. He'd have to find some place of refuge while he figured out a new plan against his foes. Having Thor back was a problem but one he could try to…

A layer of webbing struck him in the face and caused him to gasp out in surprise. "What in…"

"Aww…you share hot dogs on a roof with a guy and you don't even remember his name?" Spider-Man said as he swung down and planted both feet into Loki's face. The God of Mischief fell back, yelling as he tried to peel the webbing away. "By the way, Doc Ock wanted me to tell you he doesn't appreciate his color scheme being stolen. Or the Lizard either."

"You meddling little insect!" Loki yelled as he stood up.

"Technically, you know, spiders are actually…Oh, why bother, I'm just distracting you anyhow."

Too late, Loki felt the presence behind him and turned in time to see the stone mallet smash into his face. He fell back, stunned as the Warriors Three moved in, their swords all pointed right against his throat. "Just one chance, Loki," Fandral hissed, his face matching Hogun's usual grim expression. "Tis all we ask…One chance to dispatch thee once and for all."

"Nay, Fandral," Thor said as he strode forward. "Loki be my responsibility now."

Loki swallowed as he glared at Thor. "What now, brother? No prison can hold me, you know that."

"I know," Thor said. "But I believe even thee shall not escape the fate I have for thee."

And for the first time in a long, long time, Loki felt utter terror clutch at his breast as he saw the look in his brother's eyes.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

In the chaos of the battle at the Garden and the earthquakes set off by the Hulk, no one saw Miek manage to crawl away. The alien insect hissed as he carried his wounded body off, feeling the pain of the blows earlier. He had no idea what had happened to the others and didn't care. Only the Hulk mattered. The Hulk would understand. The Hulk would know what he did was right. Miek just had to find the Hulk and it would all be better.

He was almost out of the rampway leading to the exit when a boot smashed into his face. Miek found himself on his back, gasping for breath, legs and antenna waving about. He looked up to see a massive blaster held in the hands of a somber man clad in a jumpsuit with some sort of insignia on it.

"Who klik are you?"

It was almost as if the eyes of the skull on the man's chest narrowed as he spoke in a cold voice. "Punishment."

There was the flare of blazing light and when it faded, New York City had one more dead insect for its large collection.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Sorry it took a while to get this out, holidays and all. Sure it won't satisfy everyone but hard to do a big epic spectacle battle in words rather than artwork. Still, hope you liked it. Have one more chapter to wrap it all up so keep the comments coming. **


	10. Chapter 10

Civil War Hulk

By Michael Weyer

**Well, here goes, the final chapter of a story that went much better than I had expected. Hope it works out.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The sight of the fleet of New Yorkers flowing back into the city couldn't help but bring a smile to Captain America's face. In the week since the defeat of the Hulk and his forces, the government, Stark Enterprises and Damage Control had done a terrific job repairing much of the damage to the city. There were still trouble spots (the NBA, NHL and WWE would have to do without Madison Square Garden for a while) but for the most part, the city was once more livable. Soldiers patrolled to make sure there weren't many problems but it appeared everyone was too happy to be alive and back to make any trouble.

Cap watched it all from the deck of the SHIELD Heli-Carrier which had been used as a temporary headquarters for the heroes with Stark Towers ruined. SHIELD was running surprisingly well but then Nick Fury had a knack for motivating people right. The word of his return had not gone well at first but when it became clear how out of control SHIELD had been from renegade agents to the fact they'd been run by an evil god of mischief, the UN had reluctantly decided to let Fury keep his command. Not that it would have been easy to get him out of it of course.

The revelation of Loki's involvement and his manipulations had caused some big changes in terms of the Super-Human Registration Act. Many still held to the idea that some sort of system to hold superhumans in check was needed. However, the cost of the War, not to mention how it almost ended in disaster, had persuaded many that automatic arrest for defiance of the Act was not right and already amendments had been passed to make it a choice, not a crime. The rest of the debate was still open and likely to go on for a while.

For his part, Cap had been doing his best to check in on the damage while figuring out his next move. He had been pleased to see how well everyone had worked together against the Hulk and wanted to make sure that didn't end now that the battle was over. He knew there was some tension between some figures like the Falcon and War Machine but for the most part, the heroes were back on the same page with the Fantastic Four already back at the Baxter Building and Reed helping Tony figure out the Act.

There were several issues with the invasion left, especially what to do with the alien forces left behind. They were being kept in the Negative Zone prison for now, not only because it was the only place that could hold them but for their own safety as there were no doubt many people who would want payback on the invaders. The prison was also being used to house the super-villains who had been put together by Tony and Reed who had realized how foolish an idea it was to use these killers.

Still, these were all issues for another day. For now, as he walked across the Heli-Carrier's deck, Cap had only one issue on his mind. It involved the man who stood at the end of the deck, staring at the city below. "Thor?"

The God of Thunder turned and nodded to him. "Captain. Tis good to see thee once more."

"I can't thank you enough for coming when you did," Cap told him. "Without you, I don't know if we could have won. At least not without destroying the city and maybe half the coast."

"It was my honor to aid thee once more," Thor said.

Cap paused. "What are your plans now?"

"I still search for mine people," Thor told him. "They are scattered about Earth in mortal forms. I hath already found the Warriors Three and Hemidall. With them, I shall continue mine search."

Cap nodded. "We picked up that city in Oklahoma," he referred to the massive Asgardian capital that had appeared in the air above the Oklahoma plains a few days earlier.

"I shall not be interfering in governments or mortal nation's affairs," Thor quickly said. "I took that course before and to disaster it nearly led. I do not know fully what the future holds but Asgard is still mine responsibility."

Cap bit his lip. "You know we would love to have you back in the Avengers."

Thor sighed. "In truth, Captain, I am not certain. Midgard seems so much darker than when I left. Seeing men and women I have long respected fighting one another…it was not a pleasant sight."

"It wasn't to us either," Cap said. "But we could use you, Thor. Not just your power but your wisdom as well."

"I respect you above all mortal men, Captain," Thor said. "But even thee may be able to sway me here." He looked over Cap's shoulder and his expression became grim. "Especially when in such company."

Cap turned to see Iron Man coming toward them, his armored feet clanking on the metal deck. He paused and raised his faceplate up, his expression serious. "Thor…we haven't had a chance to talk about…things."

Thor simply crossed his arms and fixed him with a glare. "Twas not a discussion I wanted."

Iron Man sighed. "Thor…look, when we first met, I didn't believe in your claims at godhood. I'm a scientist, accepting an actual living immortal was a bit much. So I took the hair to test it and see."

"And you kept it afterward," Thor stated. "Kept it and used it to create a copy of me."

Tony rubbed his face. "As I said…"

"You cloned mine body, my essence, you presented a murderous drone as me." Thor's voice rumbled with anger and the skies seemed to darken as he spoke. "That was after you decided to judge those who only desired to aid others. When you took it upon thyself to work with mortal governments and imprison those who did not conform."

To his credit, Iron Man did not back down but set his jaw. "I did what I thought was right. I know the dangers the future can bring, Thor and…"

"The future?" Thor sniffed. "Long hath I worked with seers and prophets, Tony Stark and I may tell thee that quite often, their prophecies of the future are not set in stone. Simply because you believed this would come to pass does not make it so."

Cap felt the need to defend his fellow Avenger. "Thor, Loki's magics…"

"Only manipulated what was there already," Thor interrupted, his gaze never leaving Iron Man. "For that reason, I do not take the brutal judgment I feel toward thee." He pointed his hammer at Iron Man. "But our friendship be in the past now, Anthony Stark. Tell this to thy government and your allies: My city and mine people are to be left alone. We shall not interfere in thy affairs and thou shalt respect the same boundaries." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Otherwise thou shalt know the difference between a God…and a man in an iron suit."

He turned to give Captain America a respectful nod. "Shall the need arise, Captain, thou may call upon me." He glanced briefly to Iron Man. "But do not expect me to rejoin at this time." He turned away as he began to swing his hammer.

"Thor!" He turned his head to see Iron Man step forward. "I have to ask…What happened to Loki? Where did you take him."

Thor's expression remained neutral. "Believe me when I tell thee…Loki shall no longer be a danger to this world or any other." With that, he let his hammer fly outward and carry him into the skies as Cap and Iron Man exchanged a baffled look.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_In the cold spaces of the world between worlds, a long figure sat upon his throne. His face glowered as he tried once more to rise and exit the icy cavern but once again was bound to it. He flexed his gloved hands as he gazed outward, seeing the spectral figures floating about before him. _

_With a new Asgard came a new heiarchy and a new start for all the gods. There were still places that remained of course but it was no longer necessary for the same figures to watch over them. As the current lord and keeper of Asgard, Thor was able to shift those places about and ensure that those in place would stay that way._

_And thus Loki, stripped of much of his magics and placed as the new lord and custodian of the realm of the dead sat upon his throne and growled once more of his new eternal fate. _

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Peter Parker sipped his coffee and let out a long sigh. "Damn, I missed a good cup of this."

"I still think tea would have been better," May Parker said as she busied around the table. Despite being given access to a nice New York hotel suite, she was still cleaning about on her own, ignoring Peter and Mary Jane's pleas to sit down.

"Yeah, well, I can use as much of an artificial mood boost as I can," Peter said as he sat back, wincing a bit. He had been busy making sure the move back into the city had gone well, which included having to deal with some would-be looters. He was clad in a simple pair of jeans and dark shirt, his costume being cleaned.

Mary Jane sighed as she sat next to him. "Do you know what we're going to do now?"

"I have no idea," her husband admitted. "I know with the Act in turnaround, I'm no longer a fugitive but unfortunately, I've still got my identity public and short of making a deal with the devil, I don't know how I'm going to put that back in the bottle."

"Don't even joke about that, Peter," May told him in a slightly chiding tone. "We'll handle it."

"How?" Peter demanded. "I mean, I don't think I can just go back and work with Tony after all he's done, Loki manipulation or no. But that means you two are in danger from every nutcase I've ever put away, not to mention various crime bosses and even the two-bit muggers with a grudge."

"I know it's dangerous," Mary Jane said. "But remember, for better or worse."

"And we've had plenty of worse," Peter noted.

"The point is, Peter," May said. "We knew the dangers when we agreed with you to do this. I've been in danger so many times over the years, at least I know why." She reached to take Peter's hand. "You took a chance when you unmasked but you took a bigger one when you stood for what you believed was right. That made me proud and I know your Uncle Ben would be too. You know you have to take responsibility, Peter and it's time you showed what a good example you can be."

Peter smiled and kissed her cheek. "Sometimes I think you should wear the mask, Aunt May."

"I look horrible in that dreadful thing," she smiled back. She frowned as there was a loud knocking on the door. Peter was on his feet, alert but not too worried as his Spider-Sense wasn't tingling. He looked through the peephole and jerked back in surprise. He opened the door and stared at the figure on the other side.

J. Jonah Jameson took a long drag on his cigar and blew it out as he spoke fast. "Let me make this clear: This conversation never happened and if you say it did, I'll deny it with my dying breath." He took another drag. "I'm still not happy with what you did to me all those years or how you made me look like a fool. I'm not happy you're being held as a hero still after all that. As far as I'm concerned you're a menace who made me and my paper look bad."

He sighed and looked down. "But…" He grit his teeth. "You fought him. You could have run with everyone else out of town but you stayed and you fought that monster. You didn't do it for the money or press because there was barely any here. You stayed and you fought and that…got me thinking."

He looked away, still not willing to look Peter in the eye. "I'm dropping the suit. Not for you," he was quick to say. "Frankly, my lawyer told me it was a losing proposition anyway as you could never pay it and the paper can't afford such a mess in court. But I'm also dropping it because I know it's not right to drag you into court when you just put your ass on the line to save a lot of people you didn't know. That's why I'm dropping it."

He backed up and took another drag before stubbing his cigar out on the wall. "You're still fired and frankly, I don't ever want to see you again. But for what it's worth…" He paused. "Good luck, Parker. Whatever you do with your life now, you can expect my editorials to cut down on the venom…" He saw the wince Peter made at the word. "The volume against you." He paused again, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something but then turned away. "Good luck."

He was halfway down when Peter called out to him. "Hey, Jonah!" He turned and Peter smiled. "That mean you're giving up your membership in the Hitler mustache fan club?"

Jonah snorted before stomping away. Peter shut the door and shook his head in disbelief. "Well, looks like the fates finally threw me one."

"What was that?" Mary Jane asked.

"You wouldn't believe it," Peter said as he grabbed the coffee mug and sipped again. "Well, I guess I should take advantage of the decrease in the super-villain population for a bit."

Aunt May nodded. "At least there's some good being used of that dreadful Negative Zone place."

"Yeah, no way they can get out of there." Peter winced. "Crap, now I jinxed it."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The two SHIELD agents seemed a bit bored as they accompanied Karla Sofen aka Moonstone to her holding cell. The blonde was as impassive as usual, her armor showing her voluptuous form, the manacles around her wrists ensuring she would be kept in place as she was led to her new place. The prison was operating well despite its shift to only villains but the special guards and checks were all still in place to keep them tight. Which meant that the two guards were a little more lax than usual.

"So, they say when the Knicks are gonna be able to play again?" one asked.

"Who cares?" his companion said as they came to the main holding section for Sofen's cell. "They suck anyway."

"True," the other guard said as he put in the combination to open up the force field leading to the cells. "But got courtside seats."

"They suck. Why would you get seats?"

"Courtside."

"So you get a front row to the sucking? Why would you waste money on that?"

"Courtside."

"True."

Moonstone rolled her eyes. "God, shoot me."

Two loud blasts came from behind and she jumped as the two agents fell forward, their helmets blasted apart along with what was inside. Turning, Moonstone saw a man standing before her. He was clad in a pair of jeans and a dark shirt but what got her attention was the large red cloak he wore with a hood up over his head. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

The man didn't reply, his eyes focused on the two guards at the cell area who were already moving in, their guns ready. The man took a breath and seemed to vanish into thin air. The guards were startled by the move, pausing too long as the man reappeared and fired again, his shots cutting them down.

The man moved to a nearby console and quickly tapped in several keys. With a loud clanking sound, the cell doors opened. Another combination was typed in and Moonstone felt the manacles around her hands loosen and fall off. "What?" she asked in surprise. "How did you know to do that?"

"Amazing what you can see when you can't be seen," the man replied in a raspy voice. He turned to where the various costumed criminals were exiting their cells, all baffled but eager to move. "Here's how it works," he called out. "You can call me the Hood and I'm the one guy who's got a way back to Earth. Which means you all owe me big-time. I'm gonna call that marker in to make sure you all listen to a proposal I have."

"What proposal?" Bullseye growled.

The Hood seemed to smile. "One that turns us into the biggest money-making organization on the planet. Those heroes thought they had a war before? They ain't seen nothing yet."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Night was falling on Manhattan as Cap and Iron Man sat in the main SHIELD conference room. It was only the two of them, their masks off and both looking tired. "How many agents?" Cap asked.

"Twelve total," Iron Man replied. "I guess we should be lucky it wasn't more. They still have no idea how it happened. The feeds only show some blur where a guy should be."

"But he managed to get in and break out almost everyone," Steve said. "A massive super-villain jailbreak."

Tony couldn't help but smile. "Déjà vu, huh? It's what got us to put the Avengers back together again."

"And you think we can repeat that," Cap stated. He sighed. "Tony…Thor raised good questions. I mean, I know Loki was pushing you and Reed a bit but those thoughts were already there with the Act and all. You still haven't said it wasn't right."

"I think it was," Tony said. "I know we did it wrong, we went too far making it a crime not to register but I do still think a system like that can be beneficial."

Steve shook his head. "I don't know, Tony…There's still the question of identities."

"We can pick someone everyone trusts," Tony said. "Someone…like you."

Steve was startled. "Tony…I don't know…."

"Come on, Steve, everyone trusts you."

"But all that information in the hands of one man is more dangerous than a single database." Cap shook his head. "I don't think that's the right solution."

"Maybe not," Tony allowed. "But we need something in place. Look, Loki may be gone but the damage is still there, especially with the mutants still depowered. At least there's some good news as Dr. Strange said it was Loki preventing new mutant births so we may see a rise but still…"

His words were cut off as suddenly the lights in the room went out. Both were on their feet and alert, Tony reaching for his helmet when something flew into his face. He gasped in pain as a solid object hit his forehead, stunning him. A dark shape flowed through the air to kick at him, then turned to launch an attack on Cap. The soldier managed to block the kick but the intruder dodged a punch and landed behind him. His hand struck out to stab Cap in the kidneys, causing his knees to buckle. He slumped on the table, trying to get his breath back and preparing for the follow-up strike.

It never came. Instead, the lights came back up as both Iron Man and Cap turned to focus on the intruder. "Daredevil?!" Iron Man gasped.

The red-clad hero was rising from a crouch, replacing his fighting stick back into his tights. "Sorry about that," he said in his usual calm tone. "I had to be sure."

"Sure?" Cap winced as he rose up. "Sure about what?"

Daredevil moved to a large black bag nearby. "The man you've been seeing in my costume the last few weeks was…a friend," he said. "I've been in Japan. I was called on by Echo."

"You mean Ronin?" Iron Man remembered the deaf martial artist who had aided them in Japan.

Daredevil nodded. "She'd run into trouble with the Hand and their leader, Elektra. I managed to save her from an attack but the battle was…difficult. In the end, Mia…took extreme actions on Elektra." He lifted the black bag and placed it on the table.

"She killed her?" Cap guessed.

"She stabbed Elektra, ran her right through," Daredevil said as his fingers found the zipper of the large bag. "But after she did…."

He pulled it down with a long zip and opened it up to reveal what was inside. Cap and Iron Man stared in utter confusion. There, lying on the table was a figure in the familiar red costume (what there was of it) of Elektra. A large red spot showed where the sword had gone in and the figure's eyes were closed in death. But what got their attention was that instead of the gorgeous features of Eleketra there was…

"A Skrull," Tony whispered. "That's…a Skrull."

Daredevil nodded. "Yes. And it wasn't until she died I knew that. Her heartbeat, her pulse, how she moved, how she smelled…Everything about her was exactly like Elektra."

Steve and Tony exchanged stunned glances. "Loki said…" Steve began. "That he wasn't behind the Raft break…Or the government and the push for the Act."

"Oh my God," Tony whispered. "If a Skrull was set to lead the Hand….They may be working to take over other organizations…"

"Or have done so," Daredevil said. "That's why I had to attack, to make sure you weren't Skrulls or you'd have used your shapeshifting on me."

Cap bit his lip. "But that still leaves us with the question of who to trust."

A silence filled the air as the three men took in that massive question.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"You don't have to do this," Rick Jones said for the tenth time in the last hour.

"He's right," Jennifer Walters said for just as many times. The two were in the front seat of the beat-up truck as it roared down the highway leading south. Jennifer was in her human form to fit in better while Rick was enjoying the fresh air in the same red shirt and jeans as he'd worn before on the Hulk's ship.

In the back seat, Bruce Banner managed a smile. He seemed smaller than before but also calmer, wearing just jeans, a dark shirt, jacket and a baseball cap. "I appreciate the thought but I want to do this."

"Bruce," Jennifer said. "You don't have to run. The government knows it wasn't you, it was the Hulk."

"To many people, we're still the same," Bruce said. "Even without that…I'm still too famous, Jen. I don't want to be bombarded with reporters or offers for my autobiography."

"You're still you, Bruce," Rick said. "You can use your brain to help people."

Bruce sniffed. "Right. With every would-be Einstein bugging me day and night for help or to show off a new theory? With corporations breathing down my neck for results? Oh and let's not forget the military would be more than happy to use me all over again."

"Yeah but just going on your own?" Jennifer asked.

"That's just it, Jen." Bruce smiled. "I'm on my own. No more Hulk. No more dreams. No more voices in my head. No more fear. It's time I enjoy life at long last. I'll probably come back eventually but for now…" He rubbed his hair back. "I just want to enjoy it while I can."

Rick smiled as he pulled to the side of the road. "You know where to find us."

Bruce grabbed the large duffel bag next to him as he got out of the car. "I do. Thanks for keeping it quiet from everyone."

He circled the car and gave Jen a hug then shook Rick's hand. "Good luck, Bruce," his old friend said with emotion. "Hope you find what you're looking for."

"So do I." He watched as the truck drove past him and then turned to head back. Shuffling his bag on his shoulder, Bruce Banner began to walk down the lonely road and into a new life. He didn't know what it would hold but at least at long last he could face it as a true man without the shadow looming over him so long.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_And so ends the tale of what occurred in this reality. Bruce Banner is human again. The Avengers are together again. May Parker lives as does the love between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Captain America avoids his assassination while Tony Stark does not control SHIELD, leaving it to more capable hands. And there is the chance for more mutant births to set that race right._

_But there are still threats. The Hood now has a much greater criminal army to call upon. So many enemies know who Spider-Man is. And of course, the Skrulls threaten as well with their secret invasion._

_What will become of this? I cannot say. I can only do what I have long sworn to do. That is to watch._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**And so ends a story that ended up much bigger than I expected. Thank everyone for all the wonderful reviews, they helped out a lot. I'd like to say I had ideas for a sequel but really not sure, especially with my love of Marvel taking a direct hit thanks to the Spidey/MJ relationship being done away with in as stupid a manner as possible. Still, thanks to everyone for reviewing, hope you liked how it ended up. **


	11. Creator Commentary

Civil War Hulk: The Creator Commentary

By Michael Weyer

**Now this may be a bit goofy but I've always loved those "Creator Commentaries" that Wizard Magazine does and thought I'd do one myself to explain what I was thinking making the story and what shifted about. So hope you enjoy this little capper to my tale.**

**CHAPTER ONE:**

I don't know how I got this story. It just popped into my head reading World War Hulk and the destruction and wondering what would have been if the Hulk had arrived sooner during Civil War. Part of that was that, like many fans, I wasn't happy with how CW ended or its aftermath but also the idea of the still splintered heroes against the Hulk struck me as fun.

My first decision was to get rid of the Sentry. I have never liked the character, feeling the Marvel Universe just doesn't need a Superman type. His use has bugged me too as he just comes off so whiny and ineffective yet in "WWH," he's treated as the one everyone counts on. So getting rid of him was key.

Also, I have never liked the character of Amadeus Cho, the one misstep of Pak's otherwise excellent run. The guy just strikes me as the comic equivalent of a Mary Sue, a super genius who can do things Reed and Tony can't, manipulate SHILED and any computer system and keeps escaping certain death. That's just too annoying to play with.

Captain Marvel's resurrection was another misstep I wanted to avoid as it just spits on the classic Jim Starlin death story and the time travel thing gives me a headache.

Also, Namor's arrival with his Atlatean forces never made that much sense, particularly how they just vanished afterward. The real Namor would have kept fighting to keep Cap, one of the few men he truly respects, from offering himself up so easily.

The scene of the Hulk arriving was in my head from the start and I was a bit surprised that the "What If Annihilation" special did almost the exact same thing, substituting Nova and a probe for the Hulk.

I know the dialogue the Hulk says isn't exactly what was in WWH but I was going more for reactions than exact recreations. She-Hulk's reaction I wanted to play with and the line Luke Cage has about "put me in the Negative Zone and good luck with the Hulk" had been in my mind for a long time.

**CHAPTER TWO:**

Now I admit at the time, I hadn't come up with the "Hill is really Loki" thing when I wrote the start. But I did want to show that the government wouldn't be stupid enough to keep dividing the heroes when they need all the bodies they can get with the Hulk.

I know Marvel wants to make Tony a guy who just had to make right choices but they could have done it without turning him into a fascist. So the scene of Cap and Iron Man arguing was key as it also sets up the segue to Doom.

There's just something about Doom that makes him such a fun character to write and especially when he actually does have the moral high ground for once. I wanted to get the flavor of my "Doctor's Take" tales, of Doom pointing out how in so many ways, Reed is as bad, if not worse, than he is. Namor's reaction just made sense as he was against the Hulk being exiled from the start and figuring the surface world can just fend for themselves.

The Thing/Reed discussion was one I wanted to get, it just seems it would take Ben to get to Reed and point out how, if things had gone differently, Ben could have ended up just as big a monster as the Hulk.

Frankly, I'm shocked that at no time has Marvel done anything of Peter reacting to his oldest enemy a government agent. I thought making Norman leader of the Thunderbolts was really pushing it and Peter's reaction just makes sense here. I mean, really, turning to hardened killers to hunt down heroes? That just had bad idea written all over it and someone had to call Stark on that.

I liked the Hulk/X-Men mini and thought that would be a good work here and naturally, the heroes would be jumping to get at the Hulk. For the record, since this is earlier, Xavier is in space with the Shi'ar, which the Hulk wouldn't know about.

Yeah, I'm a Hawkeye fan, I admit it and so figured this would be enough to get him out and helping and made for a good cliffhanger.

**CHAPTER THREE:**

As you might have noticed, the fight scenes are a little sparse but frankly, it's much easier to draw this stuff than write it out. G 

As far as I'm concerned, bringing back Norman Osborn was one of the single biggest mistakes the Spider-Man books ever made. Asking fans to accept he'd been "recovering in Europe" for 25 years worth of stories was bad enough without completely ruining the "death of Gwen Stacy" story (oh and don't get me started on JMS' entire saga with them…). So when I figured there was a villain who had to die against the Hulk, he was it plus it made sense for Osborn to strike out trying to get into Tony's graces not to mention the fact he's nuts.

For Syrin, it wasn't an easy choice as I do like the character. However, she seemed the best expendable of the X-Men characters and I liked the idea that it's only in death she accepts her father Banshee is truly deceased as well. The idea of Jamie's dupe fainting seeing her just popped in as something Peter David would do himself.

The Juggernaut bit I liked from the comics and I've always loved the "never slept with the Juggernaut" running gag.

Rick Jones' arrival just fit into the story as it's just like him to simply stroll up to an alien starcraft and go "take me to your leader." More importantly, I wanted to show how the one guy who has always defended the Hulk realizes he's truly unstoppable and this time may not be able to go back to the hero side.

That I really wanted to work with, that the Hulk just can't be seen as a hero anymore after all this and simply took it to another level. Killing Syrin is the breaking point for him as he now accepts there's no turning back and thus it's time to bring the pain.

**CHAPTER FOUR:**

I admit I could have done more with the Leader but did feel good getting in this one scene with She-Hulk confronting him. It's natural she'd think that someone had to be manipulating Reed and Tony (and it turns out she was right, just not the Leader) and he's fun to write. I did love his confidence being assaulted hearing of the Goblin and how is it so easy for people to forget this guy nuked a whole town? Even Doom didn't go quite that far yet he's so overlooked.

I admit, I sort of forgot the Abomination setup at first but did manage to get it together as I planned.

The Hawkeye/Hawkeye scene was a fun one to do and I liked playing with the differences between Rhodey and Falcon.

**CHAPTER FIVE:**

Ross' appearance made sense as he'd be the guy to send against the Hulk and here he has to let the heroes try first which rankles him immensely.

I know some expected the villains to be sent in as cannon fodder but this makes more sense as they'd put themselves first and know there's no way in hell they're nuts enough to take on a blood thirsty Hulk. Doc Ock just seemed right as their spokesman somehow.

I do like how the Jameson character has been given some depth via Civil War and Peter David's great "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" run which inspired the talk between Jonah and Robbie.

Now at the time, I had thought of Hill merely reporting to the actual mastermind, it wasn't until later the Loki connection came.

**CHAPTER SIX:**

The battle between Tony and Hulk here is a tad different from WWH as you don't get that rich sense of satisfaction here. But I did want to keep the thing of Tony sent flying into Avengers Tower, a great visual.

Okay, here goes with the big one: I'm not the only one who thought the characterization of Strange in Civil War seemed out of place, staying out of it totally. The idea of an imposter fixed into my head and Mordo was the logical candidate. I took some of the dialogue on Wanda from the "What If Avengers Dissembled" special from 2006 which raised the same points on the flaws in that story. As for the big reveal, I'll get to that in a minute.

**CHAPTER SEVEN:**

Throwing in the Punisher was a last minute thing but it does make sense that he'd stick in town to fight the aliens on his terms. Pairing him with Winter Soldier clicked in my mind and does make them a good aid for the heroes here.

The thing of Loki being behind Wanda's breakdown and House of M had been in my mind since reading those issues. It made no sense for Wanda to be so powerful or snap like this so it was likely she was manipulated. And who better than the being who had the most to gain seeing the Avengers destroy themselves? I had done it before with a fic "View From the Armchair" and simply altered a few details (such as the Stamford dead being dead, not in suspended animation as in that tale). It hit me that I could make that work here and it fit so much better than I expected. True, it may seem a bit dues ex machina but then Marvel does that quite a lot.

Bringing back Fury was needed without Hill around as he's the only guy who can keep SHIELD running.

**CHAPTER EIGHT:**

Killing off the Abomination may have seemed a bit much but it just hit me that he'd be a likely candidate to be finished off as proof to all the Hulk isn't playing around anymore.

I don't know where the "Mole Man digger" came from, just popped into my head.

Separating the Hulk and Bruce really wasn't the plan at the start but it seemed logical as Loki would find an angry Hulk easier to manipulate. It also frees the heroes up to finally let loose on him without having to worry about Banner anymore.

Originally, I had though of the Silver Surfer coming but remembered Annihilation. With my idea to throw in Loki, bringing in Thor just made sense. I was going for a combination of him facing Neferia at the end of Avengers volume 1 #167 and the classic moment of him facing Ultron during the Busiek run. Believe it or not, the tricky part was finding the right opening line, wanted something that seemed calm but also mixed with "I'm so going to kick your ass." Think I achieved that.

**CHAPTER NINE:**

Hey, if Loki can survive the end, so can Thor, right? And yeah, do sort of wish I'd waited until the recent reveal of Loki now a woman (would have made the Hill impersonation even more fitting) but still a great confrontation.

Yeah, I do wish I'd had more time for the big Korg-Thor confrontation but then it was a huge battle with the Hulk.

Both SHIELD and Ross' army taking down the ship seemed fitting to me to sell that the normal humans aren't ignored.

When I started, like everyone, I didn't know about Miek's actions and having Bruce figure it out made sense. Plus, just the fun of Bruce letting his anger out for once without the Hulk inside and on Miek.

I've always loved the Warriors Three and wanted to bring them in bad. Ares was a bit of a last thought but it made it work with his decision to fight the Hulk as it just makes sense he'd love a good battle like that. Using Thor to banish the Hulk to distant Asgard worked well in my plans too and having the Warbound agree seemed in character for them and better than marooning them on Earth.

For Loki, I just loved the idea of Spider-Man, this oh so normal joe being the one to stop him.

Speaking of stopping, the Punisher exterminating Miek was just too perfect to pass up.

**CHAPTER TEN:**

I know I left it a bit open with the Act being repealed totally but then we know how slow governments work and there would still be problems with it despite their aid with the Hulk. Having the decision to not automatically arrest those who didn't sign just makes sense.

I never saw Thor staying on afterward both due to the search for Asgardians and his problems with Tony. Yes, the dialogue is taken from the great "Thor" #3 where he hammers Tony down, an issue I loved.

Figuring the right fate for Loki was rather tricky but having him basically turned into the ruler of the dead, unable to use his powers was the best solution I could come up with.

Yes, the entire Peter/MJ/Aunt May scene is my massive "Screw You" to Joe Queseda after the end of "One More Day." Seeing Peter and MJ broken up just because Joe Q lives in the past and thinks Peter is better off single was bad enough but to do it by having Peter _make a deal with the Devil_ just to give a terminal woman another year or two of life is a slap against the character. And now it's worse as an adult Peter lives with Aunt May still, Harry Osborn isn't alive, the entire run of "New Avengers" is invalid and, to top it all off, MJ (the only one who remembers it all) is now a superpowered stalker for Peter? John Romita Sr is rolling in his grave…and he's not even dead yet.

…..Sorry about that, just had to vent.

The Hood thing just hit me as I was writing the chapter out as it seemed fun to play with Tony having so many baddies in one space which turns out to be the perfect recruiting ground for the Hood.

The Skrull ending was in my head for a long time as not everything would be changed by the Hulk's coming. Now, we have Tony and Cap working together to figure it out but doesn't mean Secret Invasion will be easier.

The ending of Bruce was something I wanted from the start as it just made so much sense. He's tired, he's finally free, he wants to enjoy his life for a change rather than a celebrity or used by the government. And yes, you can feel free to imagine the sound of a melancholy piano tune as he walks away…

So thanks to everyone for all the great comments and glad you enjoyed. Not sure if we'll revisit this reality but one never knows.


End file.
